Final Fantasy IX: The After Birth
by Slate Sky
Summary: In the years following a great cataclysm. A soldier seeks the right path to restore her broken race's dignity. A promising young knight abandons his duty after learning something horrible about his mother. And a queen finds herself growing more and more distant with her own past.
1. Roads Not Yet Traveled

"Ash."

...

"Ashley!"

...

"Ashley, come on. We're gonna get in trouble!"

*Slap*

Ashley awoke with a shock from the brief, but sharp pain in her arm. Her eyes shot open to see her roommate looking at her with a concerned look about her.

"Wha- What time is it?" Ashley asked, still rubbing her eyes.

"It's five-fifteen. I don't want to have to drag your ass to formation five minutes late again." Suzie replied, not hiding a just a tiny bit of annoyance.

"Fine! Fine!" Ashley said as she forced herself to get out of her nice, bed. She slowly meandered towards their bathroom in order to make herself look presentable. She placed both grey palms on the sink and rolled her neck. Followed by splashing some water on her face. Sufficiently woken up, she looked at herself in the mirror. A young nezumi woman looked back at her. Looking like she'd love nothing more than to go back to bed. Her blonde hair was still a mess. But aside from that and her facial expression, she was a healthy, pretty Burmecian girl. She stared directly into the green eyes that she inherited from her mother. Eyes from Ma. Hair from Pa. Disposition from Ma as well. Or so she's told. As Ashley began her daily hygiene routine, she could hear her best friend and roomie, Suzie rummaging through their pantry. Oatmeal as usual. Not that She was complaining.

After Ashley dried herself off from a quick shower, she threw her uniform on. That of a Private First Class in the Burmecian Army. Mostly the same blue outfit worn since before the war. Sans the goofy helmet. Thank heavens. She and Suzie were conscripted when they were both sixteen. As all Burmecian youths were for the past quarter of a decade. You spend a year as a green recruit. Then another year in more advanced battle and tactics training. After two years, a burmecian was free to leave. Or to pursue a career in the military. Maybe even get a chance to become a legendary dragon Knight. Ashley and her friend were about fourteen months in. And she, for one, couldn't wait til her time was up. The burmecian made her bed and eyed her room to make sure everything was in it's right place. Bed was made, nothing cluttered, not visible dust. It was a nicer place than what one would expect for a conscript in a recovering nation's military. One of the pros of Burmecia still being too big for it's population, Ashley mused.

Ashley walked into the main living area with just a little more spring in her step. Suzie beamed at her. ... Fucking morning people. Suzie's curly, strawberry blonde hair bounced as she walked to and fro. setting two bowls of porridge on a small wooden table and rinsing the pot in the sink. Ashley plopped down on the chair in front of her bowl.

"Morning, Suz." Ashley said as she continued to fantasize about the warm bed in her room. Suzie sat down across from her.

"Morning, sleepy cakes!" Suzie said with as much intentional enthusiasm as she could. Suzie was Ashley's friend. Which meant it was her duty to rustle the other nezumi's jimmies from time to time. Ashley gave a half-annoyed smirk, before she began to dig in. Oatmeal with cinnamon and some slices of apple. Pretty good. Ashley thought as she shoveled another spoonful into her mouth. Suzie took it as a compliment.

"Mind your uniform. Apparently there's gonna be a big announcement on the highway system today." Suzie said. Doting on Ashley was another way to get under her skin. But it was still sometimes necessary for the young woman.

"Announcing what? It's almost done. We all know that. This big "trans-mist-continent roadway is just gonna be way for recruits to blow all their money in Lindblum or Treno. I don't see the huge boon to Burmecian Tourism." Ashley waved her hand in front of her face and flashes a sarcastic grin.

"Come to Beautiful Burmecia! It only rains seventy percent of the time instead of a hundred, now! See a tiny population of filthy rats struggle to rebuild as you shed _crocodile tears_ and offer fake condolences!" Ashley dished out her mock sales pitch and Suzie's cheer softened for a moment.

"Ashley, most humans aren't like that anymore. All the one's that I've met are super sweet." Suzie said. Ashley responded without even waiting to swallow.

"Mmmph. Oh, Sure! Yeah. That dopey queen of there's tells them to "be nice!" and suddenly _open contempt_ wasn't in the vogue anymore!" Suzie interrupted Ashley's tirade.

"They suffered, too you know. At the hands of the Terran. Of Kuja." Suzie said. Trying to temper Ashley's rant before it got out of hand. Ashley wasn't having it, today.

"Oh. Sure. Sure. They were only decimated, instead of demi-mated... Eighty-percent-mated! They don't care. They held a tearful, fucking funeral for the the hag that did this to us while we were scraping shit in our holes! To terrified to even mourn!" Suzie stammered. She was looking visibly upset. "You know, I met the woman in charge of our invasion. Beatrix, the old General. My parents used to take me to Alexandria to chum it up with our conquerors all the time!" Ashley paused to take a swig of coffee, then continued. A hint of a hiss entered her voice.

"She didn't care! Nobody cared. It was all just business as usual. My mother would look that dirtbag like they were war buddies! She literally forbade my father from ever bringing it up. I always wished that he would leap across their fancy banquet table and slash her from her throat to her barren-"

"Ashley, please!" An agitated Suzie finally shouted out. She was holding her long ears down the sides of her face. Eyes shut, and tearing up. Ashley realized that she went from zero to tirade too quickly and unprovoked.

"You know I don't like hearing people talking about wanting to kill!" The distressed burmecian said. Ashley's face darkened. She did know what these arguments did to Suzie. Tender thing her best friend was. Sometimes she wondered where all this fire and brimstone came from. That kind of vitriol was usually something that came out of someone who actually survived the Alexandrian attacks. To the "rising generation", black mages were strange, friendly foreigners, and Garland and Kuja were just boogie men. They could have been from two thousand years ago, instead of twenty-six. Ashley supposed that she spent too much time with her mother, Freya. She always envied Fratley, her father. He had as many memories of old Burmecia and Ashley herself did. It didn't mean that he didn't care. Her father was a national hero and a driving force behind Burmecia's newfound strength. It was likely to his benefit that he didn't have the ... baggage that the other survivors had. A whimper from Suzie brought Ashley back from her thoughts.

"Suzie, I-. I'm sorry. I shouldn't lose control like that. Listen, Let's go get some ice cream at Ratigan's tonight. My treat!" Suzie's demeanor began to improve.

"That sounds n-nice." Suzie said as her crying subsided.

"Yeah! Now let's go see what this "big road announcement" is. We don't wanna be late." Ashley said, quick to move on from this embarrassing moment. She was just cranky. Ashley Iron tail was _not_ a morning person. No matter who started it, reigniting a race-war was not what she wanted. Not really. She just liked to blow off some steam, now and again.

The pair of burmecian conscripts walked a couple city blocks to where their daily formation is held. About a hundred nezumi were standing around in a gaggle. Her company and a fresher group of conscripts. Still in basic training. Her company was shooting shit, some smoking cigarettes. The trainers were silent in a near perfect formation. The drill sergeants were mingling with her own company. Ashley's eyes narrowed. She recognized a couple of them. Sergeant Green, their first-line, the one that they directly answer to, was waiting for them. He greeted them with a friendly smile.

"Ladies! Always a good day when I don't have to send someone to drag your asses out of bed!" He said, ribbing them casually.

"That's what I said this morning! I practically had to beat Ashley out of bed!" Suzie responded cheerfully. Before the conversation could continue, the platoon leaders shouted for the formation to begin. All the rats stood in their proper rows. The gaggle immediately turned into a proper military formation. Each soldier stood in parade rest. feet spread a bit past the shoulders. hands clasped at the small of the back. Captain Vanderbelt approached. First Sergeant Jacobs as well as the Senior instructor of the greenhorns gave the order.

"Company!" They shouted aloud.

"Platoon!" Each platoon leader followed.

"Attention!" First Sergeant Jacobs yelled out with gusto. Every soldier in the formation snapped to attention. Standing straight up. Feet together. Hands straight at the side with thumbs at the hem of their pants. "Alright. Enough with the formalities. Let's hear it!" Ashley thought. As if she read the girl's thoughts, Captain Vanderbelt cut right to the chase.

"Soldiers! I'd tell you to sit down for this one, but this is a formation! Not a book club! Take a deep breath, ladies and gentlemen. Because I'm about to blow your fuckin' minds!" Ashley's eyebrow perked. She noticed a few twitches in the soldiers in front of her. But for the most part, the formation stayed professional. Vanderbelt really knew how to sell even the most mundane announcements. She continued.

"The transcontinental highway is complete. The nations of the Mist Continent united in safe and affordable land travel. Four countries. United in Gaian brotherhood. Trading goods, ideas, and friendship." " _Four_ nations?" Ashley thought? Burmecia, Alexandria, Lindblum, and... Treno? But Treno is just a part of Alexandria. Missidia or Conde Petie? Why would they give a shit about the Mist Continent's Roads? Or are they building roads over oceans now? Captain Vanderbelt sure as shit wasn't talking about _Cleyra!_ A few years after Kuja's defeat, the Cleyrans restarted their sandstorm to rebuild in peace. Accepting the pittance of food and materials offered by the human nations, but none of the carpenters or workers to help rebuild. Men and women who would just end up helping with Burmecia. The few people of Cleyra were presumed to go back to the hippie lifestyle they enjoyed for centuries before Queen Icebox launched her assault. Albeit on a flatter, more mundane living surface. Could they have something to do with what's so "mind blowing". Captain Vanderbelt continued.

"You heard me! Four nations! There will be a ceremony tomorrow afternoon to open the roads right here in Burmecia! In attendance with be His Highness King Puck, Queen Garnet Alexandros the somethingth and King Zidane of Alexandria, Regent Cid Fagioli the thirty-sixth or whatever and Regentess... Regentess? Regentess Hilde of Lindblum, And finally... **Her honor... President Adel Kildea of Cleyra**! All united to open new trade and relations between the nations and people of the Mist Continent!" The captain paused to let that sink in. Cleyra! The city of illusion! Cleyra was opening her doors. Any pretenses of professionalism dropped within the formation.

"Cleyra!"

"I thought I'd never see it with my own eyes!"

"My parents have friends there that they made after the attacks!"

"The illusion lifts itself!"

"The hell's a president?"

Ashley couldn't believe it herself. Any visitors, nezumi or otherwise made it to the edge of the sandstorm and were kindly told by several signs to fuck off. The few fools brash enough to cross it on foot, or by air were never heard from again. Attempts after the first few were rare. Vanderbelt began to speak again. The soldiers were wise enough to get back in line. Her voice was the only one heard.

"Best of all. A few of our shining young superstars have been selected to attend and represent the new Burmecian army! You'll be mingling with soldiers or other nations, not to mention the elite! The beautiful people of the Mist continent. Merchants! Entertainers! Royalty! First Sergeant Jacobs will read out the list of those selected." Captain Vanderbelt stepped back and her staff officer stepped forward with a list.

"Ah-hem! The men and women who have been selected for the road shindig!" Jacobs brought the list to his face.

"Lieutenant Vaughn! Sergeant Green! Sergeant Mills! Corporal Rattinski! Specialist Seth! Specialist Wendell! Private First Class Bandit! Private First Class Nezu! Private Myuu! Private Cheryle! and Private Chu!" Ashley sighed in relief. She thought for sure that her parents would drag her to this stupid-

"And of course. Private First Class Iron Tail will be attending with her parents Fratley and Freya Iron Tail!" The formation had some giggles at this. Ashley held back a mini-trance.

"Grrrghhhhrrrr!" Ashley grumbled. Captain Vanderbelt stepped back up.

"Oh! Anyone going to the thing tomorrow is off for the rest of the day. Rest up! Make yourselves and your uniforms pretty! Arrive here at nine am. A carriage will take you to the area of interest. **Don't be late!** Everyone else can resume training as usual." Captain Vanderbelt got back into the position of attention.

"Company!" She yelled out.

"Platoon!" The platoon leaders followed.

"Attention!" Vanderbelt yelled. No one moved in Ashley's formation. They were already in attention. Some of the trainees snapped to parade rest. The captain forgot to put them into parade rest at the start of the briefing... Captain Vanderbelt closed her eyes and smiled with a tiny bit of embarrassment.

"Dismissed!" She shouted out and her soldiers crowded to each of their platoon leaders. Except for the trainees who snapped to parade rest. They were doing push-ups in the dirt. Privates First Class Ashley Iron Tail and Suzie Bandit joined Sergeant Green with their platoon. The three were selected to for the road ceremony. So after some more "Don't fuck up!" from the platoon leader, and some "mummy and daddy" ribbing from the platoon as a whole, the trio beat feet out of there. Ashley was pretty stoked to have the day off at least. She was joined by Suzie and their first line, Siegfried Green. Seigy was walking with the two girls. They were friendly with each other. Sergeants weren't allowed to be "friends" with privates. Nobody cared. Siegfried was a buddy when he was a PFC and the pair were fresh recruits. Siegfried was ecstatic to be selected for this fancy event. "I've never left Burmecia before!" He said with glee. Siegfried was twenty-five years old. One of the first baby burmecians born after the attacks. So the oldest of those ignorant of the horrible event. Ashley didn't quite share his enthusiasm.

"Siegfried, We're going to a crummy road on the outskirts of the city. It's gonna be cold and rainy. And the big-wigs would probably split after like five minutes." Suzie giggled.

"Heehee! Sure. _Sigfried and I_ probably won't get to meet anyone special. But _you_ already have! The famous Sir Fratley, The beautiful Lady Freya, The plucky Freya jr..." Suzie was usually the sweetest thing in the world. But she knew how to push her friends' buttons. She was right though. When she was a little girl. She would see her mother's old comrades all the time. The king and Queen, the knight captain, the royal chef, a creepy red-headed hobo, and the adopted daughter of the Lindblum dynasty. Many had kids of their own. Kids older than Ashley by a few years. They were all cheerful and friendly to at the time a happy little rat girl. Even the stern, no-nonsense General Beatrix always greeted her with a smile. In hindsight, she was probably just happy to see a nezumi that didn't want her crucified. Ashley did technically "know" some powerful people. She hadn't seen any of them in years, since she was waist high at the shortest of them. But she knew them.

"Oh! You still owe me that ice-cream, missy!" Suzie explained! Ashley raised an eyebrow.

"It's seven in the morning! Let's get it later. I want some breakfast!" she retorted.

"We already had breakfast! Besides, you promised to take me after your little outburst." Suzie pouted. Ashley's pupils shrunk, her nose scrunched up, and her teeth bared into a poorly disguised smile of rage. Siegfried smirked.

"Brunch, then." Ashley said through gritted teeth. Siegfried interjected.

"Ashley, Ashley, Ashley! Are you still on about the humans? Baby! That's so eighteen-oh-five. Puck, Garnet, and Cid are as thick as thieves! You're too dour." Ashley smirked.

"That's funny. I'll bet burmecians were saying things like that in seventeen-ninety-nine, too." Sigfried and Suzie gave her a deadpan expression. Fuck them! It was a clever response! Ashley would consider this little argument won. Although it was a shallow victory.

"Alright, fine. We'll go get ice cream!" Ashley said, defeated.

"Hooray!" Suzie and Siegfried shouted in unison. The trio headed to Ratigan's. They were greeted with friendly and encouraging smiles from several citizens on the way. The three entered the large, rustic diner and sat at a table.

Ratigan's Diner was a place of cultural significance to this area of Burmecia. If not officially. The owner, Price Ratigan, was a large nezumi man with broad shoulders, slick hair, and pencil mustache. His villainous appearance belied his jovial and friendly nature. A survivor of the attacks, The older rat was also one of the very, very few stories of those dark times that would get a laugh out of those that heard it. Hiding in his wine cellar during the attacks He emerged after a day or two of quiet. He looked around. He searched house after house. Screaming and shouting for another friendly soul. Throwing caution to the wind. Finally he looked at the death and destruction sitting silently around him and fell to his knees in despair. Right in the middle of the road outside his establishment. As the shock and the weight of the situation dawned upon him. He cried out in anguish.

"Monsters! All of you! All of you, fiends! Why weren't you more thorough?! You left me! You left me all alone! I am a nezumi! The last... nezumi!" Little did he know. As he poured his broken heart out, that he was being watched by dozens of Nezumi. He looked up and saw the eyes upon him. Families that hid in their attics. Devastated emotionally, but otherwise unharmed. There was a silence as Price gazed up at his impromptu audience. Then, a single burmecian child giggled. Suddenly the large, imposing burmecian man had about thirty or forty of his kind laughing in uproar at him. Ratigan blushed. But he wasn't angry. He smiled and began to laugh. He then dropped his face back to the ground and wept. He was crying and laughing uncontrollably at the same time. After all that, he was merely relieved that there were others who were made it. He was not the rubble of a destroyed race. They were still a people. A people who were down, but not out.

From that point on. Price would take guff from the populus. Word of his outburst spread among the survivors. And a consensus was reached. Price Ratigan had overacted so hard that if Kuja himself had witnessed it, he would have gained a new respect for the rats and the sheer hamminess that they were capable of. He would have then changed his ways.

A waiter approached the three soldiers and greeted them.

"Good morning! Welcome to Ratigan's! How may I serve three proud soldiers on this beautiful, misty morning?" He asked. If there was any sarcasm, it was hidden well. Ashley ordered ice cream and waffles. Still kinda-sorta breakfast. Suzie had a banana split, and Siegfried had scrapple and eggs with toast. They dug in and chatted about the coming day.

"So this road ceremony. Do you think there will be good food?" Siegfried asked. Ashley scoffed at this.

"Dude, you're eating right now, and that's all that concerns you about tomorrow?" Ashley asked, grinning. Siegfried didn't blink.

"Yeah! Nothing more important than food! Besides. Maybe that Oracle Kildea lady will bring something exotic!" He said, eyes lighting up.

" _President_ Kildea. I guess the cleyrans decided a clear mind in the present was better than eyes in the future." Suzie corrected. Ashley's eyes lit up.

"Oh shit, that's right! Cleyra! What do you think that's about? People can go there now? Are they gonna end the sandstorm?" Ashley asked excitedly. Ashley's parents took her all over the world. She's even been off-continent. But she had never visited Cleyra except as an infant. Right before the storm was reactivated.

"Oh man, going to Cleyra would be rad! I heard that after the war, they started allowing males to preform the sandstorm dance. And that's a pretty big sandstorm!"

"Ooof. There's... there's still _girl_ dancers, right?" Siegfried asked. Suzie shrugged.

"Hell if I know. But I don't see why not." Suzie answered. Ashley rolled her eyes as her two chums blushed, picturing skimpy dancers. Then she blushed too. The trio finished and Ashley footed the bill. She was happy to do it. Even though Siegfried offered. Ashley did promise after all. They parted ways and decided to take it easy the rest of the day. As they were heading out, They overhead Mr. Ratigan talking with some other regulars about the road ceremony. Must have been in the paper, Ashley thought. Cleyra would be the hot topic for a while, she figured.

"Almost tempted to pry myself away and see this _President,_ myself. This whole event is sure to be a real _thriller!_ " Ashley heard him say. "This _will_ be cool." She thought to herself.

That evening, Ashley was reading a book in her room. She heard a knock on the door. Ashley answered and was greeted by a polite, young courier. He didn't have a letter or a package. Just a message.

"Private First Class Iron Tail? I have a message from Lady Freya Iron Tail." The messenger boy cleared his throat.

"Arrive at meeting point with the others chosen to attend. We will pick you up. Looking forward to seeing you! I love you, sweetie. Colon. Right parenthesis." The boy smirked at this and Ashley's eyes drooped in annoyance. She thanked the kid and threw him a couple gil. Despite some teenage annoyance at being doted on, as well as the special treatment she sometimes gets from her legendary parents. Ashley was looking forward to seeing her mother and father. Ashley and Suzie turned in early that night.

Ashley and Suzie left early with a spring in her step. They met up with the other soldiers waiting to for the carriage to arrive. Siegfried was halfway through a cigarette. He greeted them, warmly. They didn't get a huge chance to converse, though. A single chocobo carriage had taken everyone's attention. Ashley took this as her cue to gracefully bid her comrades farewell.

"Wellgottagobye!" She blurted out and speed walked to the carriage. Two burmecians in their twilight years stepped out. Iron Tail Freya and Iron Tail Fratley. A little long in the tooth, but still radiating strength and dignity. There was no question that these two were the strongest in burmecia. Although plenty of meals with fellow soldiers boiled down to nerd debates of which one of the two was stronger. Freya was wearing a refined crimson dress with gold and silver lining. Fratley was wearing a modern brown silk suit and bow tie with gold buttons, as well as a few military medals. Despite otherwise looking their Sunday best, the heroic couple still wore their iconic hats. "Those goddamn stupid hats." Ashley thought to herself. The hats were part of each knight's ensemble back in the day. Freya's, a pointy red hat with a huge brim in the shape of a dragon's maw. complete with holes for the eyes or the nose, and two stylized silver ears or wings sticking upwards from the sky. Fratley's hat wasn't quite as bad. Just a wide brimmed, brown akubra with holes for his actual ears. It would actually be really cool if it didn't have that giant... tassel, or whatever at the top. After all this time, they still wore them everywhere they went. As she walked away, Ashley overheard both Suzie and Siegfried mutter under their breaths.

"Damn, he's hot!"

"Damn, she's hot!"

Her brow furrowed for a split second. But then she smirked. As Ashley approached, Freya beamed. Technically a soldier in the burmecian army was to salute and greet a dragon knight with the proper reverence. The Iron Tails did away waved that away after the girl finished basic. Ashley hugged her parents.

"Dearest daughter!" Freya said with a quiet, reserved cheer. Fratley squeezed a little harder. Ashley ignored a few far off sniggers from the peanut gallery and nuzzled her family.

"Hello, mother. Father." She said, politely. Ashley loved her parents. And it wasn't that she was uncomfortable. But she was almost a completely different person when they are around. Ashley was as prim and proper as her parents. Almost. It made things very awkward when her folks and her buddies were with her at the same time. Something Siegfried and Suzie gave her no shortage of grief for. Even in front of the knightly duo. They didn't mind. They were just happy that she was, for the most part, an upstanding young woman with good friends. The Iron Tail clan entered the carriage and were on their way. They passed the larger carriage for the other soldiers not long after. Ashley tried to relax in the company of her parents. She hadn't seen them in months.

"Are you faring well in your training, Ashley? You are keeping up with your instructions?" Freya asked.

"Yes, Mother. My superiors seem pleased with my results. They all expect me to follow in your footsteps." Ashley responded.

"Is that what _you_ desire, my child?" Freya asked. Ashley tried her best to respond honestly.

"I'm not sure, mother. that's a big choice to make with my life. I know I could do well as a knight, but Suzie's been talking about school. She's applied to the Royal university, and even some of the human schools!" Ashley said. Freya's eyes lit up at that.

"Scholarly pursuits? This is the first I've ever of this! There are so many careers you could pursue!" Freya said with genuine enthusiasm. Her daughter always seemed so aloof about her future.

"Well..." Ashley hesitated. Freya cocked an eyebrow. She grinned at the answer that she expected anyway.

"You have no idea, do you?" Freya chuckled.

"I've thought about it for some time, mother! Honest!" Ashley said.

"I believe you, sweetie. When you conscript period ends, You can come home and Fratley and I will help you as much as we can." Freya took her daughter's hand.

"Mother, please! I'll sort myself out! It's not right for me to burden you both with such trivialities!" Annie said. Freya's brow furrowed. She took a breath to respond, but before she could. Fratley stated his first words of the conversation.

"Heh-heh. Heh. Hahahahaha! Ahahahahaha!" Fratley laughed. Freya turned to her husband, incredulous.

"And what in blazes is so funny?" She barked at her husband.

"I'm sorry, dearest. I just love it when Ashley fakes talking like you whenever she sees you! It's adorable!" Ashley blushed. She expected this sort of thing from her friends. But for her father to expose her like that. Freya made a fist and bopped him one with the side of her palm.

"Ow! Come now. It brings me joy that the kids are starting to speak differently. Our country has a vibrant youth again! Besides-" He said and rested his cheek on his fist. Grinning.

"I've seen you and your comrades chumming it up around town. "Hey, Suzie. Howzit goin' girl? How's life treatin' ya?"" Fratley quickly sat up straight and placed his hands on his lap. ""Hail, mother! What tidings doth thou bringeth of home? Is Father still passing out drunk by the maypole?"" Fratley ribbed his daughter, who was hiding her beet-red face with her hands.

"Forgive me, honey. I have several months of fatherly humor to catch on." Fratley said with loving maliciousness. The Burmecian hero made no effort to hide his shit-eating grin. The Iron Tail ladies groaned.

"Besides. When are you going to bring that "Green" boy home? You two would look so cute together." Fratley knew exactly what he was doing. Ashley gave him just the heart-stoppingly cute glare that he wanted. Brow furrowed. Lips pursed and nose scrunched. So much blood flowing through her cheeks, that he worried for her feet. He crossed a line. He didn't care.

" **Daddy!** Sergeant Green is my friend. I have no interest in him like **that!** " Fratley's face became stern. He paused for a few seconds. Fratley inhaled. This was important. One. Two. Three. Fratley spoke.

"So when are you bringing that "Bandit" girl home? You two would look s- **OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! No respect for comedic timing!"** Two blushing faces and four fists of fury rained down on the rat man. The fresh young soldier and the legendary dragoon pulled their punches. A little. It was worth it.

The carriage arrived at the edge of burmecia. A gate at the east of Burmecia led to nowhere for generations. Now it was the mouth of a massive expanse of roads. Two giant asphalt roads. Wide and and sturdy divided the expansive wild of the mist continent. The elevated roads rose with the mountains that divided the nations in the past. Each one had designated lanes for what appeared to be chocobo carriages. Like the architects expected ninety percent of the travelers to take expensive chocobo travel. There were separate walkways on the side for pedestrians with hip-high barriers dividing the wide lanes and the foot paths. Awful lot of seperation between the two. Any chocobo with the most basic of husbandry knows to avoid people on the side of the road. Sentries were posted a few hundred yards away, they kept the rabble away as the big wigs got things set up. The public would be allowed closer once the ceremony bagan proper. If it wasn't for Cleyra, Almost no one in Burmecia would give a shit, except a few curious to see the human royalty. As it stood, a crowd was already forming. The sentries allowed the carriage to pass. the ceremony itself was being held right at the wide mouth of the road. right before the road begins to rise and separate. Ashley tried to make out who was who from a distance. It was tough even up close sometimes. "Humans all look the same." Ashley thought. She saw more faces that she recognised as they approached. Nearby a makeshift stage at the far end of the area was a table that was just a little bit fancier than the rest of them.

At the table sat the ruling elite of the Mist Continent. Seemed kind of quaint, all things considered. Ashley let her parents take the lead. As they closed the final few yards to the table, Ashley tried to take roll. The King and Queen of Alexandria, Garnet and Zidane. Garnet sat making pleasantries. Ashley used to watch her deal with all sorts of people, and the burmecian could never tell if she was feigning her warm disposition with whoever it was until said individual had left and she started talking about them behind their backs. Despite this, Garnet was a respected figure among the burmecian populous. She had mustered as much aid and supplies as she could and bestowed such things to the near-annihilated nezumi, responding with a "fuck you." to any protest from nobility and military. It still wasn't much, but the war reparations from from their attackers was more help than Burmecia ever got from her supposed ally, Lindblum. Next to her was Zidane, king-consort of Alexandria. The small, tailed man looked bored. He'd been dragged to these types of things for longer than she had been alive. But he always seemed like he'd have rather been at a pub in Lindblum or somewhere. Zidane looked over to see the Iron Tails and his eyes lit up. Zidane dipped below the table and emerged from underneath it. His arms outstretched and wearing a grin, ear to ear. As her parents and the king of Alexandria caught up, Ashley scoped the rest of the vip-vip table. Next to Zidane's now empty chair was Puck, the king of Burmecia. Even ignoring his regal clothing and gigantic, silly crown. Puck could never blend in with his own people. Somewhere along the line, someone in the dynasty had fallen for a commoner with a strange mutation. Milk chocolate fur instead of the species' usual stone grey. Every few generations, a prince or princess would be born with the coloration. Puck was one of them. in the last few years of the 1700's there were supposedly a good dozen of those peculiarities. But, you know. Genocide.

Puck was chatting to a human woman who Ash had guessed was around his age, maybe a bit younger. Upon closer inspection, Ashley recognised her as another one of her mother's old companions. Eiko Carol, the horn should have given it away. Eiko was the heir to Lindblum, although her adoptive parents showed no signs of slowing down. Ashley always wondered how come the regents never had any kids of their own. Either the mister was shooting blanks or the missus was barren, she guessed. The elder Fabools were talking to a governor from Treno. Ashley looked around to see if there were any more figures that stood out in her head. She figured that the bigger military leaders would have "more important" things to do, but she was disappointed that Aldebert, the old knight captain of Alexandria didn't appear to be around. She was only a friendly acquaintance with all of these people. But her mother's disposition was always just a bit more cheerful, the more whole the "old gang" became. Ashley didn't see the royal chef or that creepy hobo either. But she'd have been more surprised to see either of those two. Ashley was pulled from her thoughts, literally as she was grabbed by the shoulder. Her gaze was met with Zidane looking up at her. Their faces mere inches from one another. Zidane had a son older than she was and that thin mustache and tiny, blonde soul patch was all the facial hair he could ever pull off. He hadn't seen her in four or five years. And now she was taller than him.

"Um." Ashley uttered. Before she could greet him properly. Zidane grinned maliciously.

"What is this? You don't see me for a few measly years and you have the _nerve_ to _grow taller?!_ This is an outrage! As a visiting dignitary, I demand that you kneel before me and allow me to scruffle you hair like I always did!" Zidane said in playful impudence. Ashley had forgotten about that. Bastard. Ashley grinned defiantly.

"Yeah, no." She said. Zidane's toothy smile grew wider at that.

"A challenge eh?" The tiny monarch lept for the uniformed soldier. Ashley backpedaled out of his reach, just in time. She knew he would never try to hurt her. He was no stranger to rough housing with the kids of the castle in past, her included. Zidane made another leap and Ashley again narrowly avoided it. She could have told him to stop, but hell, the rest of this was going to be a bit of a drag. What's the harm in a little fun? Not every day you get to test your reflexes against a great hero. Zidane changed his approach. He dashed to the right and and leapt for her. Ashley dodged but right at the last second, Zidane rolled and his tail grabbed her ankle and she stumbled while the runt shifted his weight and managed to grab hold of her.

"Ha **ha!"** Zidane managed to wrap his arms and legs around her torso. Binding both of her arms to the side of her body. Zidane then ruffled Ashley's hair in victory. He alway liked to keep his and his friends kids on their toes in the past. And he wasn't going to let trivialities like "being an adult" or "having a foot of height on him" stop him any time soon. Ashley struggled to break free. She wasn't ready to yield just yet.

"AAH-HEEM!" The wrestling pair heard a loud, attention getting throat-clearing in stereo. They both turned around to see Freya and Garnet staring at the two with their hands on their hips. Zidane immediately got off of Ashley and they both stood up straight. Faces beet red, smiling. Thankfully, no one else was really paying attention to them. Zidane getting bored and messing with soldiers or the help was old news. The soldier and the king still weren't getting off that easily. And the two instantly found themselves sitting in adjacent chairs. Having their hair fixed by their respective matriarchs. It was telling of the nineteen year old and the forty-two year old that their respective mother and wife had to each keep a hairbrush for this exact reason.

"Really, Zidane. You promised to behave in front of the Cleyrans." Garnet scolded her husband. Zidane responded to her.

"But they're not even here yet! ... I mean. Are they? It's kinda hard to tell because yo- owowowowowowowow!" The queen of Alexandria grabbed a hold of a lock of Zidane's blonde hair and gave it a good yank before he could finish that sentence. Her teeth clenched briefly and her eye twitched.

"No! I do not believe I see any nezumi face that I do not recognise, Zidane. And it's almost time for the opening ceremony to begin." Garnet said. Freya, satisfied with her daughter's appearance for the moment, took out a pocket watch.

"Just three minutes to noon. The public is starting to file into the bleachers to watch the ceremony. Ashley was curious as well.

"Cleyra is relatively close to Burmecia. Still, It's a long journey on ground. Even with the new road system. Could they have made the journey on foot?" Ashley asked aloud. Garnet's eyes narrowed.

"I sincerely doubt that." As if on cue. A humming noise filled the air. Many in the crowd as well as the vips looked around trying to find the source. Ashley was one of them. "An airship?" She thought. Any airship that was audible, should be visible too.

"There!" a nearby Alexandrian noble explained. He was pointing upwards towards the western mountains. Ashley squinted. There was something approaching from the air. From the direction of Cleyra. She only had the far-off mountains as reference. But something was off. It seemed ... small for an airship. At least a post-mist one. Ashley made the obvious guess that the giant rotor at the top was the source of the noise. The same noble crossed his arms.

"Look at that! Some prick from Lindblum decided to take his shiny new ride and take a peek at the Cleyrans from the air. Of all the nerve!" The strange airship drew closer and the noise intensified. It _was_ rather rude of this person to steal the Cleyrans' thunder like this. Many others in attendance continued to pay attention to the road or the ground. Waiting for the fourth nation's representatives. Ignoring the showboat in the air. Ashley did the same until she noticed something. She was the only one at her table that was scoping the ground for the Cleyrans. The leaders of Alexandria, Burmecia, and Lindblum, as well as her parents, all had their eyes fixed on the airborne transport. About a minute later, the ship landed about thirty feet away from the podium and the vip seats. It landed so it's side faced towards the ensemble. The tiny, silver airship was merely a compartment the size of a large carriage, with a long thin section with smaller vertical rotors behind it and the aforementioned spinning top. The noises quickly dampened as the large top rotors slowed to a stop. And this unique airship had a distinct insignia painted on it's side. The white silhouette of a large, healthy tree.

The occupants left little time for speculation and the side opened, sliding over. A gauntleted hand had pushed the sliding door, while a bare nezumi hand held the other side of the opening. The body attached to those hand stepped forward to make itself visible. A nezumi woman revealed herself. She wore an elegant, streamlined purple dress that had a slit down the side. Although not close enough to see in too much detail, Ashley could see the shimmer of jewelry reflecting off of this stranger. An anklet on her left leg. A braclet on her right arm, the one without the heavy gauntlet. A choker around her neck, and two small earings. The gauntlet itself seemed rather out of place. But any burmecian understood it's reasoning. Many survivors would use different clothing and means to hide the scarring that they've received. A piece of plate armor was a new one to her. But she knew exactly what it was there for. This nezumi had taken a fire spell to the left arm. She was lucky that it hit an extremity. She likely passed out from the pain and and the black mage thought her dead. The nezumi woman scanned the crowd. Even from several yards away, Ashley could see the intensity in her eyes. A quick glance at the elders around her confirmed the obvious. The "prick from Lindblum" was none other than Adel Kildea, the president of Cleyra. The Cleyran woman stepped out of the airship too a moment to run her hand along her white hair. Brushing it to the side of her face. It was clear that this was a woman who knew a thing about first impressions. She held nothing back, and stood in a confident manner as she eyed her audience. A second figure emerged. This one more in line with what most were expecting of a Cleyran. An elderly nezumi in an ornate, clergy outfit. Complete with a large mitre. "What is it with my species and silly hats?" Ashley thought to herself. The Cleyran woman dropped her grandstanding visage to help the old man down. They then slowly made their way towards Ashley's table. As they did, more figures emerged from the ship. A stern-faced nezumi man with cropped hair, and a muscular (for the normally slender species) build stepped out next. His apparel was odd, but there was no mistaking what it was. He was decked out in matching pants and a top. The pants had large pockets and were met at the bottom with thick boots. Fully closed footwear was an oddity for most nezumi. Over his top was a vest of padded armor. This was a soldier. A _Cleyran Soldier!_ Ashley had trouble wrapping her brain around that. Ever since the original pacifists left and founded their nation. The term "Cleyran soldier" became a euphemism for something that didn't exist. That term had just become an anachronism. Following his exit was three classic Cleyran maidens and three more soldiers, dressed similarly to the older Cleyran. They stepped out in an alternating order. The soldiers had weapons slung around their backs. Some kind of medium sized sword, from what she could see. But she couldn't see much. The woman and the old man were growing closer. The soldiers and the dancers followed behind the older soldier. Before first two completed the walk to the tables, Ashley eyed the airship to see if anyone else would step out. The first one wasn't of too much special interest. A nezumi man in another soldier outfit, minus the outer armor pads. Ashley supposed he was the pilot. She wondered if that was it, but the pilot looked as if he was talking to someone inside. One more figure emerged from the airship. And to Ashley's surprise, it was not a nezumi. A human man stepped onto the ground. Ashley instantly recognised him. As, she was sure did everyone else. A tall man with short, upright brown hair, with the sides shaved close. His chiseled, angular face scanned the crowd until his eyes rested on the table of royalty in the center. His mouth opened into a smile as he tilted his head back. He wasn't dressed like the Cleyrans, but wore a long, heavy black coat. Underneath it, he wore a vest of padded armor. And underneath that, a white t-shirt. He wore slightly baggy dark brown pants and even darker brown boots. The only metal armor that he had on where a pair of steel bracers on his forearms. A scabbard slung over his back held a large sword. He crossed his arms, and almost looked like he was going to approach them as well. But the pilot spoke to him and he leaned back against the side of the ship. The two lit up cigarettes and continued to chat.

"What did I tell you? Cleyra! He went to Cleyra! You owe me a bottle of brandy!" Eiko said as she nudged Puck's arm. A king and a future Regent had a bet going on about where someone disappeared to. That was the level of infamy this guy had achieved. He was a pariah among his own people. And probably the most divisive figure among her species as well. Friend of the nezumi. Deviant predator. Avenging hero. Deranged murderer. Everyone had an opinion. Ashley, herself had met him. But was too young to strike up a meaningful conversation. So she had little insider insight into what was true and what was urban myth. What she did know was common knowledge. While his moral fiber was hotly debated, his martial prowess was not. He had slowly built a name for himself carrying out missions to keep the peace on behalf of his Homeland of Alexandria. Nothing near the scale of the previous generation. But he and his buddies kept busy. It wasn't until a fateful day, five years ago, that he captured to public eye. As the stories of the Evil invaders with goals of extinction and the heroes that struggled against them started growing stale. The public latched on to the odd and tragic tale of a young, lovestruck knight who had taken by force the title of the fiercest fighter on the planet.

Jonathan Aldebert Steiner, the man who killed his own mother.


	2. 3D Pig Disgusting

"John."

...

"John!"

...

"Johnny! Oh to hell with this. Wake up, dumbass!"

*Smack*

"Ow! Dick!" John Steiner woke up with a start. The first thing he saw was a woman's midriff dressed in a form fitting white shirt. Miffed at having been struck in the head while he was sleeping and having just been knocked out of his slumber, He wasn't quite ready to make smart decisions. John tossed a jab right into that slender stomach. Said woman doubled over. Face obscured by her long, black hair.

"Augh! Fucker! Assaulting a member of the royal family? I'll have you executed." The black haired figure yelled out.

"Fuck off, Darron! God damn! What!?" John slowly sat up. The woman, Darron Alexandros, was crown prince of Alexandria. He recomposed himself, and ran his hand through his hair.

"Our parents have a job for us. They want us to guard some surveyors outside the city." Darron said. John rubbed his eyes.

"Surveyors for what?" John asked. He slowly started to get up. Darron scratched his head.

"Some new road system or something. We just gotta sit around and keep the suits from getting eaten." John got out of bed. He stepped into the small bathroom connected to his bedroom. He splashed some water on his face and briefly fixed his brown hair.

"I thought that was too expensive. Garnet, Cid, and Puck couldn't crunch the number to make it work." John said as he threw on his "work" outfit. Dark green pants, and a thick brown jacket that ends at his waist. The jacket had a few scraps of "Knight of Pluto" armor slapped on here and there. Darron waited for his friend to finish.

"That's what I thought to. I asked my parents, but they were all hush-hush about it. Whatever. Somehow this went from "not happening in decades" to "This will be finished in five years." I'm sure an engineer in Lindblum figured out something." John's face became incredulous.

"Five years?! How would you even? Are we selling the burmecians into slavery?!" John laced his boots. He was ready to go.

"I don't know. They're gonna use airships for most of it. Don't ask me how they plan on _fueling_ said airships, but that's not my problem. Yet." Darron said as they stepped into a hallway in Alexandria castle. It was strange, Darron thought. Funnily enough. This would have been possible in the eighteenth century. When all the airships ran on mist. Lindblum could have easily gotten it done. In fact, they tried once or twice. The other countries weren't comfortable with it.

John and Darron's appearance clashed violently. While John owned nicer clothes, he tended to take "work" clothes. Old hunting and military clothes. bits of armor. He had a sallet in his closet somewhere, but he rarely actually wore it. Darron, on the other hand had a more princely ensemble. He wore a pair of fine crimson trousers, a brown vest with a long sleeved, white undershirt. Like his father, Darron had a tail. Unlike his father, He kept his brown, fuzzy tail tied around his waist like a belt.

"Is it just us two?" John asked as they walked towards the entrance to the palace. Darron rolled his eyes.

"No such luck. _Quaid's_ coming too." Darron said with a little disdain in his voice. John groaned. Before he could reply. A voice shouted out to them.

"Guys! Yo, wait up!" A pale, white creature was running towards them. He was huffing and puffing towards the pair. Quaid was a qu, a species of rotund, white creatures. Most were known for their isolated lifestyles and strange manner of speaking. Quaid wasn't a representative of the last two points. He grew up in Alexandria, just like John and Darron. He spoke with decent articulation and was usually pleasant to have around. But he lacked charisma. And often was foil to the pair's more adventurous shenanigans. The young qu wore a black, double buttoned chef's shirt with matching pants.

"Hiiiii. Quaaaaiiid." John said. Intentionally giving as little enthusiasm as he can. Quaid was a good sport about it. Quaid smiled. He brandished a large leather roll.

"Hey. I stopped by the armory and grabbed our weapons. So we're good to head on out." Quaid said. John couldn't really give him shit. He did them both a solid.

"Thanks, man." John said.

"Yeah. Let's go get this over with. I have a lot of princely hedonism I need to catch up." Darron said, smirking.

"Comics and trading cards again, Dar?" Quaid asked innocently. Darron's smirk turned into an embarrassed scowl.

"God damn it, Quaid!... But yeah. Dude Triple Triad shits on Tetra Master. You guys should try it some time." Darron said. John shrugs.

"Yeah. It sucks because we're at that stage in our lives where at least one of us is being dragged off by our folks to some important thing or other." John responded. When the Three of them were younger, all they had to do was study and hang out.

"Hey remember that time we found a huge trunk in a guest bedroom? The one that ended up belonging to Kuja?" John asked as they continued their walk towards the outer gate.

"Haha. Yeah, our parents all thought we'd awaken some evil spell or something. "You no fool around with strange things in castle, Quaid! Me tell you over and over!" Ma was so mad." Quaid said, laughing.

"Yeah! My mother almost beat my ass when she found out about that. And then she did beat my ass when she found out what we did with it." John continued the story.

"Oh man. Those thong sling shots were so sick. We nailed Doctor Tot with water balloons from like half a mile away. He was almost impressed." Darron laughed. The three of them finally made it to the gate. It was already open. Monsters and brigands weren't really a concern that close to the city. A mile or so out, it was another story. "I guess that's why the ruling class was so enthusiastic about these roads." John thought. Before they stepped out, Quaid unfurled the leather roll. In it was their prefered weapons. Quaid picked up his hammer. About four feet long, with a head that looked like a meat tenderizer. Darron picked up his own weapons, two qatars, blades about a foot long. John slung his weapon over his back. Nothing flashy. Just a good old fashioned big sword. Just like his parents used. The three amigos saw a group gathered a few meters out, and walked over to them. As they approached, they noticed thet the blob of people was particularly grey. John raised an eyebrow.

"Ah Jeez. I was kidding about the Burmecian slave thing. Who put my mom in charge of this?" John said while they were still out of earshot.

"Oh yeah. The person financing most of this, the one my parents won't spill the beans about. They insisted that the project use almost exclusively Burmecian workers. If it's not a wealthy rat, then it's a sympathizer. They want coin going back to Burmecia in droves." Darron said. They drew closer and a couple of the surveyors noticed them. Two humans and a burmecian waved them over.

"Oh, hello! We were told to wait for a few gentlemen to provide security. Are you all knights of Pluto?" She asked warmly. John smiled.

"Technically I'm a knight of Pluto. The three of us are the children of the king, queen, military leaders, and head chef. We are here to protect you and be out of our parents' hair for the day." He said. The head surveyor made a strange face for a second. Then resumed her friendly demeanor.

"Ok, then. Well with your pedigrees, I hope we can trust you to keep our work uninterrupted. Let's get to it, then." she said. She lead the other two surveyors and the three young men further down the dirt path. The other two surveyors followed. John paused for a second.

"What about all those guys?" He said, pointing with his thumb to the large group of burmecians. The head surveyor smiled.

"Oh, they will stay here and lay the foundations right at the entrance to the town, where it's safer." She said. This surprised John, who didn't think real work would start so soon. "Shit. Five years." He thought. John took a look back at the group of nezumi. Some of them smiled friendlily. Others glowered. Most were looking elsewhere. John smiled awkwardly. He never could get his mom to go into detail of what happened in nezumi territory, but it was obvious that she wasn't proud of it. A strict rule was put in place very early in his life. Some burmecians wouldn't be the most friendly to him, but as long as they weren't trying to hurt him, he was to be as polite and respectful as possible. Aside from the king, two knights, and their daughter, he rarely interacted with them.

The six made their way. As they walked, every hundred feet or so, they would leave a thin stake with a pink-colored tip to the left and right. While the roads have been mostly planned, the surveyors' job, now was to make sure there were no local obstacles along the planned routes. If there were, they would adjust accordingly. They were friendly enough. The head surveyor's name was Caitlyn. She was from Treno and did plenty of construction work in the dark city. The burmecian was a man named Samuel. If he held any ill will towards John, he hid it well enough. The third surveyor was Vincent, a dog man from Lindblum. As they walked, the surveyors needed to focus more on their work. So as they talked amongst themselves the three would-be protectors kept an eye out for monsters and bandits. The later being unlikely.

The three continued to shoot the breeze. Catching up, reminiscing, gossiping, fads, pretty girls. The day's walk was pretty uneventful. The group eventually stopped for lunch. Six meals all stashed away in the dog man's large backpack alongside all the stakes they were using. They continued to chat as they ate. Sam, the burmecian, described some of the more interesting sites restored after the war. After a small rest, they gathered their things and prepared to press onward. They couldn't go too much further. They _did_ have to walk the same distance back to town before it got too late, after all. Right as they took their first few steps out, Quaid stopped and held up his hand. His Quish nose was a little stronger than a human's. John was curious if the dog-man or the nezumi picked up on anything, but they seemed confused as to what was up. Although they could be considered "animal-people", they had spent enough time as sentient, civilized creatures to let their instincts dull. Despite their reputation, qus were by no means unintelligent. However their solitary lifestyles did give them a few edges. Quaid unfurled his long tongue from his mouth. He said it helped him smell more clearly. It always freaked Darron and John out, even though they saw his mother, Quina all the time. And she had her tongue out twenty-four/seven.

Darron leaned closer to Quaid.

"What is it, Quaid? Goblins? Dingos? Spiders?" Darron whispered. Quaid pulled his tongue back into his mouth with a charming slurp. His expression was of slight concern.

"I don't know. I don't recognise this one." he said, frankly. John and Darron's lips pursed.

"Hmmm." John said. The three Alexandrians stepped in front of the surveyors. So much for an easy day. John poked the burmecian in the shoulder. When the nezumi looked at him, John pointed his thumb behind his back, towards Alexandria.

"You guys should probably go that way." He said. The three nodded and quickly made their way back. Putting the three fighters between them and whatever was nearby. Darron spoke to try and ease the tension.

"It's alright. Probably some migrating... squirrel or something." He said quietly. Unfortunately, the mystery creature made it's way through the brush, towards them. It used it's huge tusks to clear itself a path. It was no squirrel.

"Ahhhhh shit! A fucking _zaghnol?_ " Darron said aloud. There was no point in being quiet at that point. The beast knew they were there. Panic briefly took the three young men. They were expecting something weaker, if anything at all. They all held fast, weapons drawn. The zaghnol snarled and scratched the ground with it's hind hoof.

"I heard your old man took one of these things on in Lindblum once. And it was just him and that Freya lady. There's _three_ of us. We got this. We totally have this." John said. He was clearly nervous. As were Darron and Quaid. They held fast, side by side. The Zaghnol charged. Heading straight for the center of the group, which happened to be Darron. John and Quaid jumped to the sides. Darron himself stood still for just a split second longer. When the Zaghnol was merely two feet away from him, Darron jumped as high as he could. Daron's right foot landed on the top of the monster's skull. The charging beast was hardly a steady footing though. Using his momentum, his left foot found the zaghnol's neck. The son of Zidane Tribal managed to run up the creatures back. He thrust the front of his body forward and planted both katars into the beast's sides. Right below the ribs. In that same instant, he threw both of his feet in front of him. His weapons dislodged themselves and he landed right behind the creature and continued to give himself some distance.

As Darron made his first move, the other two readjusted themselves and began their own attacks. John and Quaid attacked in unison. They rushed towards the monster, who still hadn't turned around. John reared back and made a heavy horizontal slash against the creature's side, inflicting a pretty deep wound into it's hide. Any smaller creature would have been felled instantly from an attack like that. Quaid made his attack a bit further. He swung his hammer over his head and struck the base of the great beast's tusks. The tusk was visibly cracked. The Zaghnol roared. Quaid, John, and Darron had it surrounded. Although they had their doubts if that was such a great idea.

"Oh great! Oh great, now it's just pissed!" Darron yelled out sarcastically.

"Yeah, we got some good hits in though. Right?" John responded.

"That's a great quote for out tombstones, John." Quaid quipped.

The monster charged Quaid this time. He narrowly managed to swing his hammer and connected with the side of it's face. Using the force to thrust himself out of the way. Darron took the opportunity to go for it's right side and deliver a series of slashes and thrusts to the creature's ribcage. it wasn't doing too much to the monster in terms of real damage, but the zaghnol could feel it. And it shifted it's focus to him. The zaghnol bucked it's head to the side, towards the prince. knocking him away. While that was going on, John made his move. He brought the hilt of his blade close to his chest so the tip of the large sword pointed straight out from him. As the Zaghnol tried to pivot towards Darron's new location, John charged and ran his weapon through it's chest cavity. This was a death blow. The monster would not survive an attack like that. However, the few minutes it would take for death to take the frenzied beast would be very dangerous. They all knew it was still dangerous. With a grunt, John pulled his weapon out of the monster's abdomen and then leapt backwards, guard ready. Luckily the monster was at least beginning to slow down.

Quaid saw his chance. The zaghnol took a few steps back towards a large tree. Quaid rushed towards the tree. With a surprising level of agility, the qu planted his foot onto the center of the trunk and used it as a platform to thrust himself into the air. He delivered a mighty overhead blow to the small of the monster's back. Delivering brutal force to it's lower spine. It cried out in pain. But it got back up again. The bleeding and broken boar-monster was not done just yet. With it's hind legs, it bucked Quaid away and then charged at John. John's sword met the creature's tusks, but the force brought the Alexandrian knight to his back. He quickly rolled out of the way of a pounce that likely would have killed him. The crouching man brought up his sword just in time to block the monster's tusks. He was able to hold it at bay. It was really getting weaker now. He glanced at Darron and nodded. The Prince ran up, drew back his arm and drove his katar right into the zaghnol's throat. It cried out one final time, and then it died.

The area grew eerily silent, except for the trio's huffing and puffing.

"Shouldn't we like, pose or something?" Quaid asked. John frowned and halfheartedly swayed his sword from side to side.

"Do-do-do-do do-do do-do-do." He sounded off in mock fanfare. The three slowly got to their feet.

"Everybody alright?" John asked.

"Define "alright."" Darron shot back. Quaid chuckled. It was starting to get dark. The three started the walk back to Alexandria proper. The three amigos made it back to the city limits without incident. By then, the Burmecian construction crew had retired to an inn inside the city.

"Alright who's hype for telling our parents that we killed a zaghnol?" Darron asked.

"Not me!" said Quaid.

"Not me!" said John.

"Not me!" said Darron. Darron continued.

"You guys had trouble with a zaghnol? I kicked one's butt back in the day, and I only had _one_ friend helping me! And I totally put the moves on her afterwards too. Did you even get to second base with Quaid?" He said, in an exaggerated impression of his father, the king.

" _One zaghnol?_ When I was your age, I defeated _a hundred zaghnol!_ With both my legs and both my arms tied up, and also my good eye covered, and I had a cold that day, and blah blah blah blah!" John continued the joke. Emulating his mother.

"You kill giant pig monster and you no bring it back to eat? Where did me go wrong raising you?" Quaid emoted. Miming his mother's strange style of speaking. The three laughed aloud as they turned a corner. As they made they turn, they stopped dead in their tracks. Their five parents were there. Behind them were the three surveyors. Zidane, Garnet, Adelbert, Beatrix, and Quina were all armed. They were coming to rescue their children. And from the looks on thier faces, they also heard that conversation.

"Actually, I could never make anything happen with Freya. Not for lack of trying, mind y-ah!" Zidane said matter-of-factly until Garnet smacked him in the back of the head. Adelbert spoke up next.

"Ahem. Well, it appears we got worked up for nothing. You three _have_ been minding your training." he said. As a future king and a future knight, Darron and John were expected put through some pretty intense combative tutelage. Quaid was always there because he felt left out.

"Yes. Yes. In fact, since you three had such an easy time with the hulking beast that you're all _making jokes at your parents' expense,_ I feel it best that you continue your noble deeds in Burmecia and Lindblum. Tomorrow morning! Jonathan, prepare to make way to Lindblum." Beatrix said. She turned to Garnet.

"Your highness. Might I request that Darron embark to Burmecia, to see to the safety of the surveyors there? Surely he could brush up on his diplomatic skills while he is there." She said to the queen. Garnet cocked an eyebrow and smirked.

"Oh yeah. Sure. That's why want my son to go to Burmecia and not yours. _Diplomatic skills!_ " Garnet said, looking Beatrix in her single eye. Beatrix' face darkened. She didn't respond. Both of their husbands looked uncomfortable. Garnet didn't press on. Instead she turned her back to the group.

"Darron, do what the General asks, sweety." She says, waving her arm. She then stopped and turned back to the three young men. A bright, pale aura enveloped her body and in a flash, they were all reinvigorated. Garnet used her white magic to restore their health. She then turned around and walked towards the castle.

"I'm going to bed." she said, and walked away without another glance.

"You two be at the gate at seven am sharp. I'll have prepared a transport by then." Aldebert said.

"You got it, Pops." said John.

"Sure thing, Capitain." Darron said.

"Wait, what about me?" Quaid asked. Quina appeared with a large dolly.

"We go get boar monster! Tomorrow, me gonna show you how to prepare it for huge feast!" Quina said excitedly.

"Aw, Jeez, ma!" Quaid said, but followed his mother obediently. The group dispersed. Nearly everyone made their way to somewhere they wanted to be. The only one to dawdle was the prince. Darron stretched his arms and sighed.

" _Burmeciaaaa?_ I don't wanna go there. The rat people are cool, but fuck all that rain! Man..." Content with briefly whining to himself, Darron made his way to the castle.


	3. Ratropolis

This might be really corny. But a few dbz fanfics that I used to read did this. Put a little youtube link to a song, that would play during a specific scene. Of course, this could just be ignored. But if anyone's interested, follow this like when the story says "Garnet walked with the rest of the "big wigs""

watch?v=kISiXthzFks

Or just google Infinity by Queens of The Stone Age

Ashley didn't have much time to muse about the human. The Cleyran woman had arrived, clutching the arm and the shoulder of the old nezumi. Ashley had thought the elder a man from a distance. But up close, it was clear that she was a woman. Now that she thought about it, she remembered reading about the original leader of the Cleyran survivors. An oracle who somehow escaped the grand tree in it's final moments and made her way to the ancient library off of the continent. The knowledge she gleamed was said to be invaluable in getting the near annihilated population back on their feet. "Was Daguerreo the source of all of Cleyra's change?" Ashley wondered. The younger Cleyran brought the older one to an empty chair and sat her down. Everyone at the table got up to greet them. Although Ashley, Eiko, and even Puck were just a split second slower on the draw. It wasn't so much a lack of manners as they were still taken aback by the display so far.

"They'll all still be here in five minutes, Mother. I want you to rest on solid ground a bit. The doctors didn't even want you coming." The slender woman said.

"Oh. Like I give two spits what _they_ think! But, fine! Go and greet our hosts. It's rude of us to keep them waiting." The oracle said.

"Quite." Adel nodded. She composed herself and turned to the rest of the table. President Adel Kildea stood up straight and then placed her bare hand on the table. Her intense blue eyes scanned each of their faces. She paused for a couple seconds and then spoke.

"Fellow rulers of the Mist Continent. King Puck, Queen Garnet and King Zidane, Regents Cid and Hilda, and their heir, Eiko. On behalf of the people of the Nation of Cleyra, I, President Adel Kildea, would like to wholeheartedly say "Hello."" She said in a soothing, eloquent voice. Ashley's eyes were focused on this new arrival. She didn't notice the look of uncertainty that the others had on their faces. Cid was the first to speak.

"Well met... President. I trust we have much to discuss. National matters. As well as stories. Stories and _questions."_ Cid said. His eyes fell upon their strange vehicle, or perhaps the wayward son of Alexandria.

"However. I believe we have a ceremony to start." Cid continued. It was noon. Three small groups of soldiers, one of nezumi men and women, another of human woman, and one of several human men and two beast-men. Soldiers of the three nations. Ashley saw Adel glance to the Cleyran man and nod. He led the six other Cleyrans towards the other groups. Ashley then felt a tap on her shoulder. She locked eyes with her mother, who tilted her head towards the other soldiers as well. Ashley nodded and went to join her fellow soldiers. Eleven in total, with her it would be twelve. Siegfried and Suzie greeted her with a warm smile as they saw her approach. The others, as well as the other two groups of soldiers seemed more focused on the seven nezumi making their way to the groups. From Ashley's point of view, the Burmecian group was to the left, then the Alexandrian group in the center, then the Lindan forces to the right. Ashley joined her comrades and watched the Cleyrans take their place in the empty spot next to them. The older Cleyran stood in front a few yards away and faced them. The six took to a proper formation immediately. The three male soldiers stood at attention side by side at about two arm's length away. The three dancing maidens stood behind them, but to the left so they were visible to the whole crowd. They were not at military attention, but stood with feet together with hands clasped behind their backs. They stood proudly and had their noses tilted up and to the side just a little bit. Lieutenant Vaughn stepped towards the front and silently motioned for the lot to get into formation. Ashley could see an officer each from the other two groups do the same. They almost looked like a weird multinational company. Which was likely the point, Ashley guessed.

As she stood in formation, she saw movement coming from the Cleyran airship. Two more figures emerged. Both nezumi. Another woman in a professional dress and a man in less refined clothing stepped out. The man was holding a large black device. "What are those two up to?" Ashley thought to herself. The woman tapped the rat man in the shoulder and pointed at the table with the rulers and Ashley's parents. The man took a knee and brought the large device to his eye. He then pointed it towards the group.

"Hey. What are those two doing?" Lieutenant Vaughn asked the leader of the small Cleyran group. The officers of the human nations were also giving the Cleyran a concerned look. He returned their look with a dismissive hand gesture.

"Relax. They're not going to hurt anything." He said as he put his hand on his hip. The three other officers looked unsure. They glanced at each other, and then their leaders gathered at the front. Adel gestured towards the pair of Cleyrans and no one at the table seemed too concerned. The officers let it go and the Ceremony looked like it was properly beginning.

Two nezumi and two humans made their way up to a small stage with a podium. Adel, Puck, Cid, and Garnet. The others returned to their seats. Puck is the first to step to the podium. The ceremony took place in his kingdom, after all. The king of Burmecia was never all that great at these speeches. He awkwardly welcomed the leaders, soldiers, and citizens of the other three nations. He then stumbled his way through a short monologue about looking ahead. Ashley would have paid attention to it. But the two cleyrans with the strange black box approached the formations. The man is looking through a piece on the side of the box and aiming a glass circle towards the crowd, then it's gaze swept across the soldiers from the Alexandrians to the Cleyrans. The Cleyran woman stood in front of the formations, a little out of the man and his device's view. Ashley could see her fiddling with something on her jacket's collar, and then she gave the man a signal. The Cleyran man aimed his box at the woman and she stood up straight and began speaking.

"What the hell are they doing?" Ashley heard Siegfried mutter very quietly under his breath. The lady spoke for a minute and then the man gave a thumbs up. They then made their way towards the stage, and the man focused the box on the podium. A loudspeaker device was set up courtesy of Lindblum. The soldiers and the crowd could hear Puck's voice clearly, if a little distorted. From the bits Ashley paid attention to, Puck mostly focused on the how the roads would bring the people of the continent together. Puck finished his speech and stepped away from the podium. Adel, Garnet, and Cid looked like they were discussing who would go next. In the meantime, the Cleyran man aimed his device at the woman and she seemed to speak to it. Treating it with an odd amount of respect, by the posture she held.

Garnet stepped up next. Probably the most eloquent of the three. Her speech was of the safety that these new methods of travel would bring. Elevated above the wilderness and dotted with sentry stations and patrols, helmed by each nation for its own particular region, as well as a special organization with members of all ethnicities. Garnet finished and Cid followed. He monologued of the exchange of goods, ideas, and skills. His speech was particularly brief. The regent was pragmatic to a fault. As the Burmecians were well aware. Finally it was the enigma of Cleyra who would say her piece. President Kildea strutted past her three peers. She made a show of even standing in front of a podium. She approached from the left and grasped the left side of it. And then grasping the other side of the podium with her other hand. She lowered her head for a moment. Took a deep breath and composed herself. She knew she had the crowd's attention, and she planned to capitalize on this public interest.

"People of the Mist Continent! On behalf of the people of Cleyra, I would like to announce officially the opening of my nation's doors to any and all visitors. It brings me no small joy to learn the progress that our neighbors have made during our seclusion. My counterparts have already touched up on the distinct benefits of these new roadways. Comradery, safety, commerce. I won't waste time reiterating them further. However, I will say this. These three things must not be viewed as wholly separate concepts. They are three facets of the same end. Progress! A steadfast march towards the future. A march that we must make **together**! The banquet of history is before us. But it's up to **us** to _spice_ it. I look forward to seeing our cumulated results." Adel concluded her speech. Garnet put one hand on her hip and leaned over to Puck.

" _Flavor the banquet of history?!_ Fufwahaha!" She said quietly. Puck smirked.

"Well the crowd seemed to have taken to it." He shrugged. Adel stepped away from the podium and hopped off of the table. She sat next her mother. The three monarchs took the stairs and then their seats as well. This was the cue for Trenoan noble to get up and make his way to the opening of the road. As he did, a treno guard joined him and handed him a large pair of scissors. There were already several members of the public, as well as a smattering of Burmecian guards and soldiers. The soldiers, followed by the people waiting would be the first to make a journey on this part of the completed road. The citizens, almost all burmecians, waited on foot, on chocobo-back, and on carriage. One of the Burmecian soldiers laid out some of the rules of the roadways. His instructions were clear, if confusing.

"Any travelers on foot must take the walkways on the outermost right lanes of the roads. Chocobo travel can be made on the second and third outermost lanes. Foot travel is forbidden on any lane but the walkway. Chocobo travel is forbidden on the innermost two lanes. **All travel is forbidden on the left road from one's point of view!"** After a short pause. One of the travelers spoke up.

"What are the other two lanes for?" The citizen asked. The soldier kept a straight face.

"I have no idea. But these are the agreed laws of the road for all four territories. Please abide them, patrols are there to enforce them, as well as to provide protection if necessary." The soldier nezumi said before stepping aside. The Treno noble approached. He cleared his throat and took the big scissors to a white ribbon blocking entrance to the road.

"In the name of brotherhood among the entire Mist Continent, I now declare the international highways of the Mist Continent open- **AAAHHHHHH!** " The instant that the noble finished his sentence and cut the ribbon, four mounted young nezumi shot off onto the road, right past the unsuspecting man. Ashley saw that from the formation and chuckled. She might have been ashamed of laughing in formation, but the majority of the soldiers there laughed alongside her. The noble's beet-red face was visible from where she was. Lieutenant Vaughn turned around and dismissed the formation. The Alexandrians and Lindans break their formations. The seven Cleyrans stand there for a few more seconds before they relax as well. Officially, the ceremony was over. People were welcome to travel the roads as they pleased. What remained was a social gathering. Ashley turned around and faced Siegfried and Suzie.

"Well? Fill us in! Fill us in!" Suzie said excitedly. Ashley shrugged.

"Uh... King Zidane's still a goober, President Kildea seemed cool for like the ten seconds that I saw her... Oh that human over there is John Steiner. Apparently he went to Cleyra. Somehow." She said casually. Her two friends looked over towards the airship curiously.

"Oh wow. That's the guy that killed the great General Beatrix. What's someone like him doing in Cleyra?" Siegfried said.

"Maybe he felt guilty about offing his mum. And he went to Cleyra to be all nonviolent like them." Suzie theorized. She was overheard. The Cleyran officer's ears pricked and he looked towards her.

"Hahahaha. Our two countries have a **lot** of catching up to do, kid." A gruff man's voice came from his mouth. Suzie blushed as her gaze met that of the older Cleyran. The one who appeared to be an officer. Suzie was speechless. The Cleyran man turned to the six behind him.

"Alright, boys and girls. You're free to mingle among people here or even explore Burmecia. Don't go too far though. I expect you all the return within thirty minutes of when I contact you. Got it?" He said. The soldiers and the dancers snapped to a salute. Placing their right fist in front of the left side of their chest, and thier left fist behind the right side of their back, right at the bottom of their ribcage. Otherwise, it was a standard salute. Head held up high, posture straight, and feet together.

"Yes!" They shouted in unison. The leader waved his hand at them, and some of them dispersed. The man went to rejoin Kildea. Two soldiers and two dancers went off to see the sights in Burmecia. Leaving one of each who decided to stick around. The male looked towards Ashley and the other Burmecians and smiled meekly. The dancer who was with him tapped his shoulder and motioned for him to follow her. The dancer strided past the fronts of the other formations. Sizing up the soldiers of Burmecia, then Lindblum, then Alexandria. She and the soldier were chatting as she stared. She didn't seem impressed.

"Hey. Ashley." Siegfried whispered close to her. She turned to face him.

"Go back to your parents." He said. Ashley put her hands on her hips.

"Well if I'm such a party pooper, then fine!" She pouted melodramatically.

"Siegfried doesn't mean it like that, Ash. _**We just want storiiiies!**_ _"_ Suzie said. She brought her fists up level with the ground and shook them to emphasize her second sentence. Ashley rolled her eyes and smirked.

"Yeah, Alright. I'll see you guys back at the barracks tonight." Ashley said as she started to walk back towards her parents' table. On her way, she passed the two Cleyrans who exited the airship last. The man was pointing his box at the woman. who seemed to be talking to it.

"Well, there you have it folks. The international highway is officially open and President Kildea has made her first official appearance to the leadership and public of the rest of the Mist Continent. Cleyra is ready to play her role on the global stage. We will be forthcoming with interviews and the first glimpse of our sister nation, Burmecia! But, stay tuned for Tom with the week's weather!" Ashley stared at this woman with curiosity. Who was she talking to? She sounded like she was addressing a large group of people. As she passed, the man noticed her.

"Hey. Why don't we ask that soldier a few questions?" He asked the lady. Ashley overheard and slowed down. But the woman shook her head.

"No, we could get soldiers later. We need to try and snag someone big at this party. Not this nobody." She said dismissively. "Nobody?" Ashley thought to herself.

"Hmph." Ashley said quietly. She strode back to her parents, stood right between them, and gave them both a big hug. Two of the most beloved nezumi heroes reciprocated the _nobody's_ hug. Ashley turned around and gave the two Cleyrans a wink. The woman grit her teeth and breathed in, but smiled and shrugged. The man with her seemed amused by the turn of events as well. Ashley was expecting them to be a little more upset. Good sports, she guessed. Ashley sat down in the one empty seat next to her mother. The leaders were all there. Adel was joined by both her mother and the older Cleyran man. Cid was speaking to Adel. As Ashley continued eyeing the man with the weird device, she didn't catch what Cid said next.

"You sent us the funding, as well as the plans for all this. Yet none of the roads actually connect to Cleyra. Why?" Cid asked. Adel smirked.

"And spoil the surprise? Darling. This was Cleyra's big debut. We'll have our parts of the highway completed within four months. In the meantime, there are temporary roads set up for any who wish to visit, and they are very well protected." She said confidently.

"Protected? By the _Cleyran army?"_ Puck asked. He had a bit of a smug look on his face. A timeless burmecian joke. The Cleyrans weren't laughing, but they kept an easy demeanor.

"That's right. The **Cleyran army.** As well as the Cleyran-" He said, frankly. But stopped when Adel put her finger on his lips.

"In good time, Cluny." She said.

"Oh! Goodness. Have I forgotten to introduce my companion? This is General Cluny, Cleyra's secretary of the military." She said casually. Cluny leaned back and slumped into his chair. He waved lazily without making eye contact. Making it very clear how important he found anyone here. In his defence, Ashley thought. None of the other top ranking officers even showed up to this. Not even Burmecia's.

"It's just strange, is all. Refusal to engage in war was the reason Cleyra was created in the first place." Puck said. Trying to ease the mood. Garnet cast him a glance. Not a nasty one, but she wished he hadn't said that. It was a comment that could turn this conversation real ugly. All things considered. For the first time, the president of Cleyra hesitated in speaking. She leaned back and looked aloof.

"Times change." Kildea said. There was no malice or smugness in her somber tone. Garnet's eyes lowered for a split second.

"So. If we're done here, How about we all... Take a visit... to Cleyra?" Adel said. Zidane's face brightens a bit.

"Yeah! We never got to see it rebuilt. Come on Garnet, It'll be fun." He said. Ashley wondered why the queen of Alexandria seemed so apprehensive. But after a second, she forced herself to relax, and even gave a warm smile to her husband.

"Yes. Let's. We shall gather our soldiers and return to Alexandria. Then we will refuel and take the Red Rose to Cleyra tomorrow." Garnet said cheerfully.

"Why not take mine? You both could leave your ships in Burmecia and we could bring you back when you're ready to take your leave." Kildea suggested. Garnet pondered this for a moment. Then she shrugged.

"Alright." Garnet said. She craned her head towards the group of Alexandrian soldiers, who hadn't moved too far from where they all stood in formation. She put both hands around her mouth and shouted out the the officer.

" **Hey you! Send a couple soldiers to fetch my son. The idiot should still be asleep in the Red Rose."** She yelled out. The soldier saluted and sent two underlings to get the prince. Garnet turned back to the group.

"Darron should be here shortly. I'll inform the women to take in the sights of Burmecia, and to hole up in an inn if we keep them too late." Garnet said casually. Kildea clasped her hands together.

"Excellent. And you, Regent?" She turned to Cid and asked. Cid did not take a moment to ponder.

"We shall follow behind in the Hilde Garde VII, thanks. Forgive me, but I feel it wise to keep some pretence of security. Thanks." he said, frankly.

"From peaceful, little Cleyra?" Adel said, coyly. She smirked.

"Cid gets cranky if he's kept from his toys for too long." Hilde interjected. Cid folded his arms and pouted.

"Well, when you are ready to embark, you can follow us. I'm sure you can _find_ Cleyra, but we have very specific regulations for aircraft, as well where one can land." Adel said. Cid's curiosity was piqued. That Cleyra even had one airship was a surprise enough. He knew the country was rich in resources, but he never would have expected them to be proficient technologically. Cleyra was literally obliterated by Brahne. They were _**by far**_ hit the hardest. While Burmecia was estimated to have lost about two thirds of her population, Cleyra's post-war census was literally less than a thousand. And yet a quarter century later, the nation of Cleyra managed to fund and orchestrate the largest engineering feat that the continent had ever seen. And here they are in an airship with what appeared to be _no engine._ To say something didn't add up was an understatement. It might be a bit foolish to enter straight into such a mysterious groups homeland, he thought. But Cid would see the source of Cleyra's newfound prosperity.

Kildea relaxed in her chair. She rolled her neck and eyed the male and female Cleyran talking to each other a few yards away. She then turned to Ashley's parents.

"Sir and Lady Iron Tail. Might I ask you to spare a few minutes of time for those two over there? It would mean a lot for the people of Cleyra. Freya and Fratley were visibly confused by what Adel meant by that, but they agreed to oblige the pair with an interview. Perhaps Cleyra had a printed circulation, Freya thought. The two elder Iron Tails got up to speak with the Cleyran woman, while the man had his box fixed towards them. Ashley took the opportunity to use the ladies room. Ashley slipped away and walked to a decent-sized building with several doors. It was a brand new facility to complement the roads. Several bathrooms in a row for people coming from or about to start a long journey. Having just opened along with the roads, the bathrooms were in pristine condition. A row of thirteen doors. Ashley passed six mars symbols and entered the first one with a venus. She did her business and washed her hands. Ashley reached for the doorknob to exit, until she heard a voice.

"Darron? Darron! Holy shit, man. How have you been? It's been way too long!" Ashley recognised the voice as the mystery man of Alexandria. She remembered that Darron and John were close friends. Against her better judgement, she stayed inside the bathroom to eavesdrop.

"I've been good. I'm still... Heir to the throne and all that. What about you? What have you been doing? After... You know." Darron said. He trailed off at that last bit.

"I went to Cleyra. Thought I'd lay low behind the sandstorm. See if I could stay there as like a defender or something. Turns out they were very different from the Cleyra that you always hear about." John said. He had no reason to hide anything from an old friend.

"So you work for Kildea now?" Darron asked.

"Technically, I'm still a freelancer. Anyone on the continent could hire me if they wanted to, now. But one of the stipulations of me staying in Cleyra is that I couldn't cross the sandstorm until they were ready to dissolve it. But I'm comfortable there. I see no reason to move." John said. Ashley continued to listen.

"My mother told me that it was Cleyra that financed almost all of this whole road thing. Is Cleyra really that robust? How could they amass so many resources that they could just toss the continent a complex road system like a coin to a beggar?" Darron asked. Ashley's eyes widened. The other rulers were acting so strange towards the Cleyrans, almost cold and distrustful. Ashley didn't understand why. But if Cleyra's economy was able to finance such a large scale operation in such a short amount of time, then it likely eclipsed Lindblum by a large margin. Possibly Lindblum, Alexandria, and Burmecia combined. It was one thing for Cleyra to be more than what anyone expected, but for it to grow so much in such a short time. The last time a nation gained so much power in such a short time was Alexandria at the turn of the century. And that didn't turn out well for anyone.

"To be honest, I don't know too much. Adel keeps a lot of Cleyra's secrets close to her chest. And what I do know, I'd lose a lot of brownie points if I told you. I will say this. You need to come see Cleyra for yourself." John responded.

"That's actually what we're about to do. President Kildea invited us. My parents and I, Puck and the Iron Tails, and the Fabools. We're going to depart in an hour or so." Darron said.

"Oh cool. Are you taking the Rose?" John asked.

"No. My family and the Burmecians are hitching a ride in that horribly unsafe looking little airship that you guys showed up in. Cid's gonna follow in his though. I almost asked him if I could go with him, but I didn't want to look rude in front of the Cleyrans." Darron explained.

"Correction. You didn't want to look rude in front of the Cleyrans, _in front of your mother_." John said with a bit of mirth in his voice.

"Yeaaaaah." Darron admitted. He continued.

"We need to get back together with Patty and Quaid. I'm sure they'd love to see you again. Dude, you need to see Quaid. He grew a mustache and goatee and started wearing this goofy "flame print" shirts. He looks completely ridiculous. Going for some kind of "cool chef guy" look. But he and his mother are doing well." he said.

"I didn't know qus _could_ grow hair! But that's great. I'll admit. I kinda missed you assholes. And all the stupid crap our folks sent us off to do... Uh. How's my father?" John said, asking the last part very tentatively. Darron needed a moment to respond as best as he could.

"He's doing well. All things considered. Still hasn't retired. And General Charlotte seems to appreciate him well enough. She goes to him for advice all the time." Darron said.

" _She's_ in charge now? Never would have guessed that. But my old man, he's... carrying on all right? Is he... I don't know, well?" John asked.

"Yeah. It took him a while. But he seems to be hanging in there. Sometimes my dad will drag him out with his old Tantalus buddies or Puck and Fratley and they'll hit the town, a town. He's even been on a few dates." Darron said.

"That's good. I'm glad." John said. He tried to hide the melancholy in his voice, but he didn't do a good job of it.

Before the conversation could continue, and to Ashley's shock, the door opened. A little burmecian girl looked at her and bowed.

"I'm sorry, miss. I should have knocked." She said.

"Eh-heh. It's ok." Ashley said, her face beet-red. The girl knocked on the adjacent door and went inside after a brief silence. Ashley was left staring at the two human men, still blushing with a wide toothy grin. She had seen John from a distance earlier, but she noticed that he had a strange black cloth wrapped around his left bicep. It was over his jacket and not very tight. So it was clearly just there for cosmetic reasons. The cloth sheened a little. It looked like silk, and was out of place amongst the rest of his outfit. The prince of Alexandria was wearing an outfit similar to what she remembered he liked to wear in the past. He had a little bit more facial hair than his father and was sporting dark, round sunglasses. They shone just a little bit brighter than his long jet-black hair.

"Holy shit, Puck. Train better spies." John said with a cocked eyebrow. Darron sniggered at this. Ashley pursed her lips.

"Uh. I'm sorry. It's not everyday you get to eavesdrop on a prince and a missing person. I'll just go now." Ashley said as she power-walked back to her table. John picked up on the fact that a lowly, young soldier was heading towards the group of old heroes and royalty.

"Hey, wait!" He called out. Ashley stopped. She really should have just casually walked out, instead of listening in. She turned around.

"Are you the Iron Tail kid? Annie?" John asked.

"Ashley." Darron corrected.

"Ashley, sorry." John said, rubbing that back of his neck. Ashley nodded.

"Yeah. That's me." She said. Relaxing a little bit.

"Holy shit! Last time I saw you, you were sub-Zidane sized. Now you're a Burmecian soldier!" He said.

"Sure am." Ashley said.

"You following in your folks' footsteps?" John asked. He seemed happy to see a familiar face. Even if they were never really more than acquaintances. Ashley looked off to the side.

"Well... Right now, I'm just a conscript. Every Burmecian has to serve a couple years after school." She said.

"Oh right... I knew that." He said. The way he said it implied that he did know it at some point, but he forgot. He suddenly grabbed Darron and Ashley by the shoulders and pulled them close. He gave a big smile while the other two were slightly weirded out. His eyes shifted between the two a couple times.

"Well, we have a flight to catch. And I get to awkwardly see your parents. It'll be great! Stick with me, and I'll show you some real neat shit that Cleyra has to offer. Us _hero brats_ gotta stick together!" He said excitedly as he lead them towards the little airship.

The Cleyrans and their guests were gathered at the aircraft when the three approached. Darron was a little apprehensive about how his parents would react to John up close. He _was_ technically a wanted criminal-traitor. Garnet's eyes honed in on him. Her face soured for a split second, but she cooled her disposition just as quickly.

"Hmmm. Hello Jonathan." She said.

"Afternoon, your highness." He shot back with a smile. Darron was relieved that it wasn't an immediate disaster. He figured this meeting with the Cleyrans was too important to make an incident out of. But then, he wondered what Garnet really thought about his friend. John certainly had a reason for doing what he did, and the queen _**hated**_ Beatrix. Darron figured he'd have to keep wondering for a while longer. General Cluny opened the door and helped the old oracle in. Next, the soldiers and dancers filed in. John entered and turned into a small door towards the front of the ship. He was going to sit with the pilot. The three monarchs entered, then Kildea. The two Cleyrans who wanted to speak with Ashley's parents were nowhere to be seen. "They must be inside already." Ashley thought. This left Darron and herself. Darron turned to her.

"Well... Ladies first." Ashley couldn't help herself. She looked around.

"But I don't see any dudes." She said in an innocent tone. Darron gave her a light, playful shove towards the door.

"Hyuck hyuck hyuck. Become a dragoon like my parents? Ha! The world of comedy needs me!" Darron said. Ashley stepped on. On each side of the cabin, there was a long row of leather seats. Behind the seats on both sides was almost entirely glass window. "Huh, It looked silver on this outside." Ashley thought. Everyone who had gotten on had sat down. The seats to the left and right of Freya and Fratley were occupied. The two had sat on the side opposite of the door. As did the three monarchs of the northern Mist Continent. Adel, Cluny, and Kildea sat with them. Ashley and Darron sat across from their parents with the less notable Cleyrans and one of the Cleyran soldiers got up and pulled the sliding door shut.

"If you would, please take the clip to your left and lock it into the clasp to your right. It's just a simple safety harness. While I am **very confident** in this craft's capabilities... An ounce of prevention as they say." A series of clicks informed that everyone present did what she asked. Some faster than others. Once everyone was situated, a voice emitted from a speaker on the ceiling.

"Madam Kildea. The Hilda Garde VII is currently airborne at our ten-o'clock. We've established radio contact. The regent...Uh...wants us to try and go as fast as we can. He says he doesn't want to waste coal staying airborne for so long." The voice, the pilot said.

"He said _he doesn't want to be stuck following a bucket all day!"_ John quickly said over the speaker. Kildea smiled and looked out the window, up at the airship.

"Oh-ho-ho-ho. Lewis! Oblige the regent! We're going to make his head spin so hard that that stupid mustache will plaster to his face like muttonchops!" She said proudly.

"Yes ma'am" The pilot said. At the same time John could be heard saying "Yeah!" In the background, over the speaker. In no time, The aircraft was level with Lindblum's pride and joy. It began to move west towards Cleyra. Ashley hadn't been on an airship in years. So she still felt a little bit of a childlike excitement as she looked out the windows. Everyone was content to make small talk amongst one another. They would save any big discussion for when they made landfall. Cleyra was relatively close to Burmecia, so a trip by air would hardly be a few hours at a leisurely pace. But due to Cid's _request,_ Adel estimated that they'd be there in about two or three. They were currently hovering above the mountains that separated Burmecia and Cleyra. Everyone took the opportunity to relax and rest. While no-one present expected anything strenuous, there would likely be a lot of walking and talking. Ashley could see The Hilda Garde behind them. True to Kildea's word, her little airship was was slowly gaining distance from the larger craft. This tiny little transport shuttle was giving Lindblum's pride and joy the slip. Ashley estimated that they cleared about two thirds of the distance over the mountains. At this point, at least a day ago, the sandstorm would be visible. Ashley was told that the sandstorm of the original Cleyra was relatively small. It was a brown tornado in the center of the desert. You would see it in the distance over a vast expanse in the center of the Cleyran territory. The Sandstorm that Ashley's generation knew was a very different beast. covered the entire expanse of the desert, pressed right against the surrounding mountains and the valley connecting to the Burmecian plains. Experts and gossipers alike had guessed that the Cleyrans were octupling down on their defence. Many questioned the point of a defense that even terrified refugees could literally just walk through. The post-Kuja storm was not such a simple hindrance. Those who attempted to cross it returned half-dead. If at all. The Storm was so massive, some days you could hear it in Burmecia.

But looking in the direction of Cleyra, Ashley saw clear skies over the mountains. Soon, the desert of Cleyra would be visible to outsiders for the first time in two decades. Adel seemed to realize this as well. She got up and opened the little door to the pilot's section. she poked her muzzle in and said something to the pilot. Ashley couldn't hear what she said. But Adel turned back to the rest of the cabin. She had an air of reserved excitement. Adel stayed on her feet, but grabbed onto a couple handles connected to the ceiling. The airship seemed to slow down a little. It then made a someone drastic dip in altitude. Not quite a nosedive, but the floor was about a thirty-five degree angle for a few seconds. Ashley could see a look of discomfort on all Burmecian and Alexandrian faces. The Cleyrans didn't seem to take issue, and Kildea was still standing, looking smug.

The aircraft evened out and made a sharp turn to the right. Ashley and most of the Cleyrans were then looking back at the mountains towards Burmecia. She was also looking at the faces of her parents, her king, and her mother's friends. Three of these people unraveled and halted the plots of Garland and Kuja. They experienced the attacks and went through countless tribulations. Fratley and even Puck were left behind with the grim task of tending their devastated people. Gathering up survivors, protecting them, clearing out monster, and corpses in the streets of Burmecia. These were five people who had each _seen some shit._ Ashley was looking at their faces.

In period of about three seconds. They all went from annoyance and concern about the sudden shifts, relaxed a little as the craft stabilized, mild confusion as to what they were looking at, greater confusion. Finally by that third second, Ashley was staring at five familiar faces locked in total awe. Fratley took off his hat. Puck's jaw dropped. Zidane was grinning ear to ear. Freya was looking over around Ashley's side's heads across the expanse of the window. Garnet actually tried to stand up, but was halted by the safety harness. She felt for the release, not taking her eyes away for a second. After pawing her and Puck's thighs a few times. She felt the clasp and undid it. Standing up to get a closer look. At first taken aback by the elders' reaction, Ashley's next instinct was, of course, to turn around and see what captivated them so. They were only on the outskirts of the Cleyran planes. Right past the mountains. Was this new Cleyra so mystifying in the distance?

Ashley very briefly locked eyes with Darron, who came to the same conclusion of turning around at the same time that she did. Ashley didn't know what she expected. Some glittering nezumi utopia in the distance? An oasis built atop the crater of the great tree? Another huge tree, somehow? Ashley's thoughts ended abruptly as her head completed it's one-eighty, and her face suddenly mirrored that of her parents. Ashley could hear Darron whistle a single, drawn out note. He probably kept his cool the best of all of Cleyra's guests. Ashley sure didn't. She gazed out of her window in shock. Not even an eighth of a mile from the airship, were buildings. Buildings like Ashley had never seen before. Tightly packed, and very tall. She was looking at a vast expanse of towers. They didn't look exactly alike, and most were taller than the tallest point of Alexandria castle by a long shot. Strangest of all, they seemed to shimmer in the sunlight, like they were made of nothing but windows. At the very edge of this country's territory. Where one would expect an outpost or a tiny frontier town, if anything at all. Ashley was staring at a massive expanse of giant, glass towers. The aircraft was still a good bit higher than the tip of the tallest buildings and Ashley could see pretty deep into the towards the ground, she saw the towers divided by smooth, wide black roads. And where there wasn't a building or a road, Ashley could make out greenery. Trees and grass. She could make out tiny gray blobs on the surface. More peculiar, she could see what looked like shiney carriages going along the roads. Except said carriages were missing a key component, chocobos. This in itself wasn't absolutely unheard of. Just like tiny airships, beastless carriages were an achievable technology during the mist era. A prototype would pop up in lindblum from time to time. But they never caught on. Not when you could fly under the power of the air itself. While Ashley was still taking at all in, Adel struck a bit of a pose. Outstretching her arms in the direction of the settlement. Her face was as smug as the sun, she couldn't help herself. Oracle Kildea didn't try to hide her annoyance with her daughter's lack of modesty.

" _ **Ta-daaaa!"**_ She said proudly. Ashley turned around and could tell that Adel wanted to go on and on about her people's engineering feats. She was obviously holding back since she arrived at Burmecia. But she composed herself and pressed the button to talk to the pilot again.

"Alright, Lewis. I've had my fun. Be a dear and ascend back above the mountain range. The Fabools should be catching up soon. and I'm not familiar with how maneuverable that heap of theirs is. We don't want an impact now." She said nonchalantly. Cluny smirked and closed his eyes.

"Relax. Cleyran casualties would be minimal. Airship fuel can't melt steel beams." He said. Cluny had intended to jokingly show crass indifference to the death of Lindblum's royal family and _minimal_ Cleyrans. Fratley, however turned his head so fast that he almost struck his wife with his snout.

 **"Steel?** Those gigantic buildings are made out of **steel?** Steel, carbonated iron, the stuff you make weapons out of?" Fratley asked loudly. He was clearly incredulous to the concept. Cluny knocked on the metal roof of the airship.

"What? Did you think this thing was made of, _plastic?"_ Cluny asked the knight. This only confused Fratley further.

"The hell is **plastic?** " He asked with a cocked eyebrow. Freya patted his shoulder and cleared her throat. A sign to calm down. There'd be plenty of time to talk. And, honestly, Ashley wanted to see the Fabools' take on all this. And to build the new cleyra so close to the mountains neighboring Burmecia. Freya took the gap in conversation to speak.

"Shall we be landing here, then?" She asked. Adel chuckled. Freya's eyes narrowed a little bit.

"Forgive me, Lady Iron tail. But this is a _frontier town._ Ninasburg is little more than an outpost, really. We're headed to _Cleyra City!"_ "Adel just called an area the size of Treno a frontier town." Ashley thought. The aircraft rose and the Hilda Garde VII was closing in. At the higher altitude, you could see more of the Cleyran countryside. As well as what had to be Cleyra city. In the center of the desert. Where the maps say old Cleyra once stood, was a massive city. More of those strange steel and glass towers, surrounded on all sides by more traditional building.

"Holy Cow! It's like ten Lindblums!" Puck gasped out. Ashley had trouble processing what she was looking at. There was barely any desert left. The entire area was dotted with towns and cities of different sizes, farmland, forests, large buildings that Ashley guessed were factories, and others that she couldn't guess at all. On top of that, there were very sturdy looking buildings that were very clear in their function. Forts, armories, keeps. And roads. An intricate patchwork of black roads with more of those automated carriages. As Ashley looked around her instead of down, she could see other airships like the ones she was in. And above those, far above, there were pointy winged aircraft going to and fro. Ashley could make out the size or details of them from her position. But she noted that they had wings that didn't move. Ashley turned around to see the rest of the passengers were all turned around looking out the windows. The Cleyrans seemed amused, if they were interested at all. some were chatting amongst themselves. One of the Cleyran dancers was sprawled out on her seat, limbs all over the place. She was fast asleep, with a large strand of drool coming out of her open mouth hovering over the chest of an increasingly alarmed soldier. He seemed unwilling to wake her though.

The Cleyran craft headed towards the capital at a brisk pace, but not full speed. Allowing the Garde to keep up. Everyone wanted to ask about this and that, but they held back. Such high standing members of other countries had to keep their cool in front of their neighbors, after all. It took about another hour and a half to reach the city proper. The sun was still high in the sky by the time they reached the edge of Cleyra City. They flew over forests and clusters of houses before approaching the larger mass of buildings. More shiney towers. As far as the eye could see. All shapes and sizes. As the airship flew above all the buildings, Ashley could see more traditional building, large and fancy. in between the towers. Schools, she assumed. Or maybe museums. Although she could barely make them out from the height and angle that she was at, Ashley could see statues dotting the surface. Large statues. Stone, Some copper or bronze. A lot of Traditional looking Cleyrans, as well as two very familiar shapes, complete with long pole-arm and silly hat. The Iron Tails were heroes to her whole species. Not just Burmecia. Around the center of the massive city was one building that stood out. Much taller than any of the other towers, and wider too. Adel spoke up.

"We could have just landed here, but we'll have to escort the Hilde Garde to a proper landing place." Adel said. It took about fifteen minutes to approach an a very large open space among the towers. Along a river there was an area that was clearly meant for aircraft of all sorts. Ashley could see more of the small rotating airships as well as the large winged ones up close. they sort of glided through the air. using some kind of propulsion on the wings to keep momentum. The trade off was that they couldn't land like a traditional airship and had to delicately slow down and glide to the surface. The rotating airship was able to land more vertically. As they were landing, Adel opened the pilot's hatch and took a wired mouthpiece. She said a few things back and forth with someone outside of the ship. She then adjusted a dial and spoke again.

"Cid. Someone from the control tower will guide you to a landing zone. Please abide his instructions... Yes. Yes. There will be time for that... The rest of my guests and I will be waiting for you." Adel said. The airship finally touched down, and the large rotor slowed to a halt. The soldier closest to the door opened it and hopped out. He stood aside and gave that odd Cleyran salute. The other lower ranking Cleyrans did the same thing. The soldiers giving the salute and the dancers doing their dignified pose. "Some sort of honor guard?" Ashley thought.

"Go ahead sweetie." Garnet said to Darron. He nodded and got up to exit. Ashley made eye contact with her mother who motioned for her to do the same. Ashley followed the prince of Alexandria outside and they waited for everyone else. Their parents all stepped out, followed by Puck and the Cleyran general. Lastly, The president of Cleyra slowly helped her mother step out onto solid ground. A group of Cleyrans approached. Uniformed, but they didn't look like soldiers. One was pushing a wheelchair. A woman at the front of the group did that odd Cleyran salute. Right fist over her heart and left fist behind the small of her back. Adel said something off to the side to the man and woman who talked to Ashley's parents earlier, and they took their leave.

"Welcome back, ma'am. I am relieved to see you return safely." Her gaze falls upon Ashley and the other visitors.

"Yes. And as you can see, I have guests. We are going inside the main lobby for refreshments. Please prepare one of my larger transports, and inform me when the Hilda Garde has landed." The Cleyran woman nodded.

"Yes, ma'am!" She then turned to the visitors. The Cleyran woman clasped her hands in front her thighs and bowed.

"Welcome to Cleyra City, Cleyra. I hope your visit gives you fond memories!" She said in a rehearsed cheerfulness. One of the soldiers took the wheelchair and presented it to Oracle Kildea. She reluctantly sat down in it. And Adel lead the procession towards the Large building to the north of the area. The Hilda Garde VII passed overhead. It would likely be situated in a few minutes. Adel took the group through a set of glass doors. Like the towers, This building seemed to be made of steel and glass. Fratley looked around the building. The inside of the building immediately felt much, much cooler than outside. But ashley couldn't feel a breeze.

"The amount of spears you could make out of this building alone!" He said aloud to no one. Cluney looked over to him with a smug expression.

"And who would wield them?" Cluney asked bluntly. Zidane tried to break the tension.

"And Cleyra has sprung back like no one imagined. I knew you guys had it in you! You all must have been breeding like ra _aaaaaaa_ -" Zidane said cheerfully, but he hung on that last syllable. Suddenly he felt the cold gaze of not one, but three of the most powerful women in the world. One of which he would have to climb into bed with. They looked as if they had an aura of fire and a glint in their eyes. As the pressure of their ire beared down on him. Zidane timidly finished his sentence.

"-bbits." He said as his voice cracked. Most of the group was amused by Zidane's almost racism.

"Hi! My name's Zidane Tribal. I'm famous for smooth talking and thinking on my feet!" Puck said sarcastically. This elicited a chuckle from most of the group. Zidane rubbed the back of his neck. He smirked, taking the chiding well.

"I might have let some skills dull after I got the girl, ok." He said. Garnet gave a big toothy grin and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him close to her. Her brow furrowed a bit.

"And it's **everything** he **ever** hoped for! Isn't it, Zidane?" She said, still giving him that creepy smile. The expression told him that he wasn't completely off the hook.

"All that and more, baby." He meant it. His silver tongue just needed to be roused from its slumber. Another Cleyran attendant arrived.

"Madam Kildea. The Hilda Garde VII has landed. The crew has elected to stay behind. The regent is on his way, accompanied by his wife, his daughter, two bodyguards, and- er, a Burmecian woman." He said professionally, but he was confused about the last part. Ashley wondered about that bit, too. Puck suddenly looked a bit nervous.

"Ruh-oh!" He said. The smirk on Fratley and Freya's faces said that they know what their king was concerned about. But Fratley prodded anyway.

"What is it, boy?" He said, like he was addressing a child or a dog. He and his wife were the only people in the country who could get away with talking to him like that, even in jest.

"She didn't!" Puck said, exasperated. His eyes wide. The Lindblum party turned a corner and came into view. With them was a peppy young Burmecian woman. She was wearing a wearing a pair of tight denim pants, a loose shirt, and bright pink scarf, and gigantic, gaudy golden hoop earrings. She wore a bandana, half covering her plentiful red hair. She almost looked like a pirate. She locked eyes with the king of Burmecia. and immediately started hopping up and down and waving her hand. Like he wouldn't have noticed her otherwise.

"Yoohoo! Pucky-baby!" She shouted jubilantly in a slightly nasal voice. The entire group around him, as well as the approaching Lindans were all sniggering at the blushing king. Puck was experiencing a four-nation coalition of giggles. But he ignored it and walked to meet the woman. She outstretched her arms and he met her embrace.

"Tess! What- what a pleasent surprise! _How did the regent know to bring you along?"_ Puck said. The second bit through clenched teeth.

"They stopped at my cafe' before they got in their ship! What luck, huh?" She said cheerfully. Cid, who was enjoying this more than he should have been, added to the story.

"We recognised dear Tess from when you two absconded to Lindblum a few years ago for the festival of the hunt. We asked if you two were still an item, and she said "Yes, but Puck wants to keep it a secret until we get hitched!" Shame on you, being so ashamed of such an - _snnkktt- eloquent and refined lady_ as to keep her a secret!" He scolded, smiling. The woman blew a bubble from the gum in her mouth right as he said _eloquent and refined._ Puck's lips pursed.

"The nobility frowns upon me seeing a _commoner._ I figured the easiest way to fix that would be to _propose_ and make her _queen!_ But **that** would be too **easy!"** Puck said with just a little frustration. The woman pinched his cheek with a caring look.

"Aw, Pucky-wucky! I just need a little more time is all. Besides. **You** fell for me while you were **running away from your duties!** You of all people should understand my apprehension." Puck couldn't help but smile at her coddling. Even if the held-back laughter continued.

"Ahem. Mayhaps you would like to introduce your lady-friend to the others in your company?" Freya suggested. Puck perked up and regained his awkward regal composure.

"Right! Everyone, this is Tess! My girlfriend." He said with a strange mix of pride and embarrassment. Tess waved cheerfully. She seemed nonplused that she was in the presence of the rulers of all four of the continent's nations. Casual and carefree. The perfect woman for the oft-wayward noble.

"Aw, Puddin'!... Oh! You left your favorite hat and jacket at my apartment the other day! I brought them with me!" She said happily and pulled the articles of clothing out a small backpack. It was a light blue jacket and an orange cap. For all the silly headgear that Ashley had seen her people adorn, this one seemed simple enough. Aside from it's orange color, It was just a flat newsboy cap. Of course, according to her mother, Puck liked the hat because it reminded him of a much dumber sounding cap that he wore as a young vagabond. Puck smiled warmly.

"Thank you, sweetie!" he said as he tucked the clothes under his arm. Adel took notice of this.

"I hope I'm not overstepping my boundaries here, but if you wished, you could remove your crown, your cape, and that stuffy jacket you're wearing. I could have someone put it somewhere safe." She said. Puck pondered this for a moment. Not even the other rulers were quite as overdressed as he was. The royal pairs of Alexandria and Lindblum wore nice clothes to be sure. But it wasn't like the official and traditional outfit that he had to put up with. The same type of outfit his father wore. Tess sneaked up behind him and draped her arms around his shoulders playfully.

"Come on, shnookums! You always look so uncomfortable in that dumb get-up. I don't know why you don't just refuse to wear it! Who's gonna make you?" She said. They've had this conversation before. It was more a tradition thing. After the attacks, the Burmecian people clinged onto their own culture more passionately than ever. Fratley inhaled, and Puck expected him to give a spiel about keeping appearances and tradition and whatnot.

"You know, your majesty. We aren't even in Burmecia. No need for the whole get up. I think you and the locals will warm up to each other more quickly in a more casual ensemble." the older knight said. Puck's eyes lit up. He may have been king. But he looked up to Fratley. He was like a second father to him since he was a boy, and he took his advice very seriously. Puck removed his jacket, his cape, and his large crown and handed them to a Cleyran attendant. He tossed on his more comfortable jacket and his favorite hat. It didn't exactly mesh well with his regal trousers, but it wasn't too bad. And Puck looked comfortable. During this whole scene, Garnet got bored and wandered towards a large machine by a wall. She had met Tess before, and the girl seemed amiable enough. Certainly nicer than Puck was in his youth. This brightly lit box took a better hold of her attention. It displayed several bottles, and had a slot to fit a ten-gil coin. She reached into a hidden slit in her dress that concealed a pocket, pulled one out, and inserted it into the device. A column of buttons to the side blinked and she looked closer. It was different varieties of drinks. Several seemed to be fruit based, one was just water. Garnet's eyes landed on the one at the top. It seemed to be displayed across the machine prominently, so she figured that it was the most popular choice. Or at least the one that the makers were trying to push. Garnet pressed the button labeled "Boka Cola" and watched a metal bar slide up to a row of bottles with a black liquid inside. One of the bottles slid forward and down the slight slant of the bar. Finally it landed into an opening, where she could reach in and take it. Garnet held it in her hand and inspected it. Cold, The machine kept in nearly ice cold. She wasn't completely taken aback by this, and rightly assumed this box to run off of electricity. Like many of the objects seen so far, Lindblum had an equivalent, but said objects were usually curiosities or conveniences for the very wealthy. Not something commonplace.

Garnet returned to the group as Puck changed his clothes. She opened the bottle and heard a quiet hiss. This was a fizzy drink. "Some kind of dark cider?" She thought. She took a mid-sized gulp of the stuff. It was very, very sweet. Garnet could detect hints of citrus, vanilla, and cinnamon. But it was all overshadowed by the pure sweetness and fizzy sensation over her tongue. One of her eyes went wide and the other almost closed entirely. Her mouth scrunched up as she swallowed the strange drink. Most of the group wasn't paying attention, but Zidane looked at her with a little concern.

" **Guuuuaaaaghh!** What the hell's the alcohol content in this stuff, one point five?" She asked loudly. Adel gave her a slightly incredulous look. Taken just a little aback.

"Er- Zero." She said frankly. Garnet looked at the bottle with almost an annoyed face. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a very fancy flask. holding both bottles and both caps in her fingers, she carefully poured a brown liquor into the bottle. Replacing the volume of the gulp that she drank. She put the flask back into her pocket and swirled the bottle a bit. She then took another sip, and seemed pleased.

"Hey, that's not bad." Garnet said. Adel cocked an eyebrow and gave her a smirk.

"Er-herm. Well. Our transportation has arrived. This is largely an _informal_ get-together. So if there aren't any objections, I would like to take you all to my favorite place to get a bite to eat. We can sit and discuss things there. They all followed her out of the opposite side of the building from where they entered. As they reached this end of the building. They were suddenly a lot less alone. Hundreds of nezumi were going to and fro. Many had large suitcases. Others, more formally dressed carried small briefcases. And others still were clad in the same uniforms that the Cleyran man in his three escorts wore. Some moved along with the crowds and others marched in small formations. Ashley could see that, like Burmecia, A Cleyran soldier could be of either gender. She wondered if that could be true for the scantily clad dancers, like Suzie and Siegfried had theorized. Ashley could see a lot of people staring and talking amongst themselves. They had to be quite the site to the until-recently isolationist citizens.

The group was led out to two very long, black automated carriages. they sheened in the sunlight, and they all filed into one or the other. The interior of the of vehicle was not unlike that of the little airship that they had arrived in. Ashley could hear the soft hum of an engine, as well as the whirring of cool air circulating in the compartment. She spent the short ride gawking at the sites. All around at the bottoms of the towers, there were shops, businesses, advertisements, strange devices, and nezumi everywhere. It was like a fantasy. Various billboards showed sexy nezumi women, sexy nezumi men, flashy self-powered vehicles. She saw the word _car_ on several ads. Others showed patriotic images of Adel, herself. The long cars pulled into the entrance of a massive building, much wider than it was tall. Everyone exited and they were ushered into the building. Zidane and Garnet stopped for a few seconds, though. A particular billboard caught their eye. It advertised some kind of act or play. It featured an male genome smiling cheerfully. His effeminate features were slightly offset by the somewhat short, loosely combed back blue hair and the Cleyran business suit that he sported. His almost silly, jovial expression, soft, dainty looks, and stern no-nonsense hair and outfit clashed violently, but somehow he made it work. The king and Queen of Alexandria looked puzzled. Ashley's parents noticed the pause and looked up as well. After a brief silence.

"Oh wow. **He** lives in Cleyra too?" Fratley said, with very mild interest. Ashley was curious, until she recognised his name from the advertisement. Todd Harris, a famous comedian and actor who did work all over the Mist Continent. The first thing one would notice about him would be his striking resemblance to probably the most hated being in the history of the planet, Kuja. Harris gained success both despite and because of his resemblance to the old war criminal. He got his start a few years ago playing Kuja in plays and reenactments. This wouldn't be of that particular of interest. Except Todd regularly appeared in the other countries. He did a show in Burmecia maybe two months ago. That he had a presence in Cleyra meant that he was allowed to bypass the sandstorm. The only ones who were privy to the _anyone_ passing through Cleyra's barrier were the monarchs of the other three nations. And the only ones that they were aware of where the few agents sent to deal with them personally. The ones who relayed information and resources from Adel, herself. This man was not among them. And if he was operating both in and out of Cleyra, then it would be safe to assume that he wasn't the only one. They continued into the large building. It was basically Lindblum's shopping district inside of one very large building. everything glistened in the artificial light. Shiney and clean.

"I know this seems a strange place to bring royalty for a first visit. But there is a very high class restaurant here and the food is to die for. Trust me!" She said enthusiastically. Cid scoffed at this.

"Hmph. I figured you would want to show off something more culturally significant. Like a museum." He said. Adel locked eyes with him and threw her arms out in an exaggerated shrug. After giving him an incredulous sneer for about two seconds, she spoke.

"Museum of _**what?"**_ She said, just a little indignant. Cid looked away. She had somewhat of a point. The group moved forward through the crowds and bustle. The three Cleyran and two Lindan soldiers took the outer flanks. Ashley decided to mimic them. She _was_ a soldier, after all. She saw aw sorts of nezumi. Families, groups of friends, kids with balloons zipping here and there. Many stopped and stared. Ashley could hear the names and states associated with the party of Adel's guests. Along the way were brightly lit shops for anything one could think of, as well as things one would never think of anywhere else. They approached a an area with a very fancy entrance. The wide opening held a fountain in the center of a beautiful Cleyran maiden. Two very pompous looking nezumi waited outside the entrance at a small podium. They looked bored, until they saw their nation's president tailed by a huge procession of dignitaries. They shot upright and bowed fervently.

"Humble salutations, Madame President!" One of the Cleyrans, a woman said. The other, a man spoke right after.

"We were beginning to worry that you had grown sick of what we had to offer!" He said, hands clasped and bowing. Adel waved her hand and laughed aloud.

"Stanley, darling! I've just been busy. That's all. Big changes have come. As you can see." Adel said as she held a hand towards her guests. Now I'm going to need you to prepare for me a nice big table fooooor..." Adel quickly counted the heads in attendance. Herself, Cluny, the three soldiers, the three dancers, her mother, her hired hand, the king, queen, and prince of Alexandria, Puck and his girlfriend, The Iron Tails, The Fabools, and their two bodyguards.

"Twenty-three seats!" She said. The man bowed and hurried inside the restaurant. After about a minute or two, they were allowed inside. The restaurant already had several patrons, but it didn't seem too crowded. Two large tables were brought together towards the back. And they were all prompted to sit down. Ashley was too slow on the draw and got butted out of sitting with her parents. Who were sitting on the side with the important people. Ashley was stuck with the soldiers and dancers. But she didn't really mind. It gave her time to reflect on everything she'd seen. Or so she thought. She sat down between a maiden and a Lindan guard. Across from her was another Cleyran dancer and around them, the other Lindan guard, and the other Cleyrans. Across from her was a maiden. One who was much more aloof than her compatriots. The other two maidens sat perfectly upright with their hands on their thighs. This one leaned back, with one elbow on the back of her chair and the other arm just hanging straight down. And at a restaraunt that the president herself deemed suitable for royalty, this girl but both bare feet on the table. The other five Cleyrans ignored her, while the two Lindans and Ashley sat a little uncomfortably. There was plenty of chatter among the table. Ashley was sure she was missing really juicy details about what has and what will happen between the four nations. Also, she was in the awkward position of being the only Burmecian soldier there. Still, they tried to make small talk. Sharing stories and jokes. The Cleyrans seemed surprised at how different the lands on the outside really were. They did the best they could at explaining with the different things were called. Cars, airplanes, helicopters, television. Ashley heard later that her father had expressed relief at being someplace new, where his celebrity wouldn't be so prevalent. As he said that, Cluny coughed and pointed behind Fratley's back. There was a large, flat device that was currently displaying a moving likeness of the woman interviewing both of the Iron Tails back at the ceremony in Burmecia. Fratley had almost fallen out of his seat.

"Wait, so that box recorded what it saw and heard? Now you can just watch it whenever you want?" She asked.

"Uh. We have those, too. But this one actually can transmit what it captures and broadcast it as it happens." The soldier said, pleasantly. Ashley tried to smile naturally as a bead of sweat ran down her head. They were all talking about these things like they were nothing. Like they assumed all of these things existed everywhere. A waiter passed out menus and Ashley skimmed through it. A varied selection of comfort foods, fancy foods, and foods that she had never heard of. She decided to pick a simple dish of chicken and pasta, with apple juice. As the waiter turned to take his leave, the maiden across from Ashley called out to him.

"Hey. Throw in a glass of boka for each of these three!" She said and quickly pointed to the two Lindans and Ashley. And thankfully, she put her feet down. The group continued to chat amongst themselves, as they waited for their food. After a little over a half hour, the waiter returned with two other servers and Ashley was presented with a very attractive plate of food. Ashley took one bite and blown away. Her eyes grew wide and she had a big smile.

"Oh wow! This is great!" She said. The maiden across from her had just taken a big bite out of a strange, greasy sandwich. It's contents looked like a patty of ground up meat and a thick layer of cheese. She took the time to rib the Burmecian despite her mouth being full.

"Yeah! It's almost like we're at a _fancy_ _restaurant_ or something." She said. Ashley pursed her lips and looked away, grinning. The maiden grinned a bit more friendlily. Not wanting to totally get off on the wrong foot.

"Try the soda. You've never had anything like it. Trust me!" She said. Ashley eyed one of the two glasses in front of her. One had that same fizzy black drink that Garnet had sampled earlier. She eyed it with a little doubt for a second. The maiden lightly tapped the table with the sides of her fists. Eying her.

"Do iiiiit!" She egged Ashley on. Ashley shrugged.

"Bottoms up." She said, and took a drink. The maiden tilted her head and smirked at that statement.

"Hmph! How lewd!" She said playfully. Ashley took a pretty large mouthful of the stuff. Ashley has had cider and even beer before. But the large mouthful of bubbly liquid was almost too much for her. It didn't quite burn, but it made her throat very uncomfortable. Especially when she tried to swallow it. She pounded her chest and gasped. Then she paused and took another sip.

"That's pretty good." She said.

"Eeeyyyy." The maiden said, pointing at her with both index fingers. After most of the group had finished their meal, a commotion could be heard outside of the restaurant. Several shouts could be heard. Both of the Lindan soldiers got up and looked very concerned. The vip visitors also looked more than a little curious. The Cleyrans, however didn't seem to mind. None of the Cleyrans seemed to care except for the staff of the restaurant, who all wore very annoyed looks. One had a hand over his forehead. He bowed to Adel.

"Many apologies, madame. They let someone open a _vidcon arcade_ across from our esteemed establishment. We are working towards getting them to move, but the negotiation still hasn't finalized." he said, embarrassed. Adel laughed.

"Snkkt. Oh wow! Haha! Hey Cluny, why don't you have your little squad take young Ashley and the prince over there and let them have some fun? This will mostly be _grown up_ talk, anyway." She turned to him and asked.

"Yeah. Sure. Belle! go babysit the brats!" He said, picking his teeth. Not making eye contact with the four parents whose kids he just waved away. The maiden who sat across from Ashley got up.

"You got it, boss!" She said. The half turned around and looked at the group of Cleyrans, as well as Ashley and Darron and quickly tilted her head towards the exit. Zidane looked at Garnet excitedly. She sighed and waved him away.

" _You can go too."_ She said, and Zidane happily hopped out of his seat. Fratley crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

"Hmph. So unbecoming of a king." He said. Puck looked at him a little glumly.

"I wanna do the fun thing." He said. He intentionally exaggerated his dejectedness. Fratley smiled and looked away.

"Yeah. Me too." Fratley said, exposed. Cluny chuckled.

"Once we get some issues sorted, you and I can go join them and teach em' a few things, old timer." He said, confidently. Freya shifted her gaze towards him.

"What do you mean? Is it some kind of combat challenge?" She asked.

"Just a harmless simulation. Your daughter is entirely safe." Adel said confidently.

Ashley followed the group with the Alexandros men and entered the establishment on the other side of the main corridor. She was led to a strangely dark outlet. The letters of it's name brightly lit in pink and blue colors. Franks Vidcon Arcade, it said. Ashley could barely see inside, but as she entered she saw a very strange sight. The large room itself had very few light fixtures. What little light that did come from the ceiling seemed to make lighter colored clothes glow. Instead most of the light came from the objects on display. Large, closet size contraptions lined up against the walls. Each with it's own _television_ display. In front of the moving picture was a panel with several buttons and and one or more short, stubby sticks sticking straight up. Several nezumi were at different ones. She could see martial artists squaring off against one another. Mages and warriors running from the left to right, fighting monsters. Cars and other Cleyran vehicles. Those ones had wheels and other things in front of them. Obviously to mimic the actual steering of their real-life counterparts. Ashley didn't have time to gawk as she was led deeper into the establishment. At the very back of the area, a very bored looking nezumi girl with a nose ring, a torn black shirt with a symbol that Ashley didn't recognize, and wild, bright-green hair. She looked annoyed as she blew a gum bubble. But her eyes lit up as she saw Belle approach.

"Heeey. Long time, no see! I thought you said you'd have more free time after the storm dropped." She said and held her fist out to the other Cleyran. Belle gently tapped her own fist against the girl's.

"Ugh! Tell me about it! Now they expect me to tag along to who-knows-where and look pretty." Belle said as she rolled her eyes.

"I know! What are they thinking?!" The clerk said. Chiding her friend. Belle smiled with clenched teeth. She jabbed her buddy in the arm. She then pulled out a plastic card from her top.

"I want all-access bracelets for myself all of these chumps behind me." Belle said. The clerk cocked an eyebrow.

"You sure you should be using your goverment card for this?" she said. The Cleyran girl gave a sly smile.

"I remember the ass-beating you receive for the binge you took us on in the flower district! Hahaha!" She said. Belle's clenched grin returned, looking even more malicious.

"Cluny's orders this time! Or are you used to seeing me hang out with hairless, flat-faced nezumi?" She said as she stepped aside and gestured towards Zidane and Darron. The girl gave an expression like she just saw a unicorn. Or maybe like she just two genomes for the first time.

"Oh my **gooooooood!"** The girl yelled as she hopped over the counter. She squeed as she looked over the pair up close.

"Bonnie, Let me introduce you to King Zidane and Prince Darron of Alexandria. Your majesties, this is Bonnie Rodriguez. Arcade clerk, extraordinaire." Belle said, introducing them both. The girl in the strange attire curtsied at the two. She then locked eyes with Darron.

"Sir. I hope I'm not overstepping any boundaries, but I have to say. Your son is _adorable!"_ She said to him, glancing at Zidane. Darron's face exploded with mirth. and he just barely stopped himself from laughing uproariously. Zidane slumped, crestfallen.

"Heh-heh-heh! He sure is!" Darron said as he slapped his "son's" back. The older, smaller man looked at his son and scowled. Shaking his fist. Belle brought her fist to her mouth and coughed. Bonnie noticed and looked bashful.

"Oh right. The bracelets." She said. She went back behind the counter and swiped Belle's card through a device. The device beeped and ashley grabbed several plastic bracelets. Bonnie handed one to each person and instructed them to wear it on their dominant wrist. They were then led into a large backroom. This was the source of the shouting. Several nezumi men and women and even a couple moogles were standing there watching a pair of gigantic displays. The displays showed a group of nezumi with brightly lit weapons fighting brightly lit monsters against a mostly black backdrop. The only way you could tell there were walls at all was the dimly lit white grid. One of the nezumi took a swing at the monster and it shattered into little embers of light. The trio of visitors watched the group on the panels take on a short series of battles. Each one had bigger and more menacing monsters than the last. When a monster landed an attack, a gauge by the nezumi would lower. One of the more brazen nezumi had his bar deplete entirely. When it did, his glowing staff disappeared and he walked back behind his friends to watch. Eventually they were beset by a behemoth. The large beast made short work of their vitality gauges. The whole time, the group with watching cheered and gasped. Ashley watched their defeat, and then was surprised to see a door underneath the panels open. The group that they had just watched fight glowing monsters exited. Some looking a little disappointed. Others looking exhausted and satisfied.

Belle stepped up towards the door. She then turned towards the other spectators, put her hands on her hips, and posed haughtily. Grinning and tilting her head up high.

"Anybody got next?" She hollered. A large nezumi man with green dreadlocks looked as if he was about to step up. But he hesitated for a second and shook his head.

"Uh. No. No! Go right ahead!" He said. Belle grinned. She was a star among the holo-vidcon community.

"You're too kind!" Belle said and turned to the other five Cleyrans that she arrived with. The large nezumi turned to his friend.

"Yoooo! This is gonna be sick!" He said. His friend nodded and smirked.

"Imma' show our guests here the ropes. You guys can wait for next open game or go play something else." She said as she grabbed both Ashley and Zidane by the tips of their tails. Darron followed them through the door. Belle handed them each a small, black cylinder. The cylinders reacted to the bracelets that they were issued. Belle raised her cylinder to her mouth and pressed a button on the tip.

"Black magic." She said very deliberately. The cylinder suddenly produced a semi-transparent, glowing, teal batton. She then looked to the other three.

"Lift the handle to your mouth, press the button, and say the name of a weapon. There's magic in this, but it's not really for beginners. You guys are all trained at least a little with a blade, right?" She said. The three nodded and tried what she instructed.

"Pike!" Ashley said. And the cylinder erupted into a glowing pink spear.

"Dagger!" Zidane tried. He got a bright blue blade.

"Katar?" Darron said. The handle made a noise. Belle breathed in through her teeth.

"Oooh. Sorry. No push daggers yet. I heard they were gonna patch those in with the next weapon update though. Try the metal claw!" Belle said. Darron did and a long set of three metal claws jutted from the side of the handle. So he could attack with a punching motion. Darron grinned as he eyed the illusion.

"I can work with this!" He said. Belle had them stand in a row. Zidane suggested that she stand in the back, but she refused. Their first opponent was a pack of small dingos. It wasn't a complicated encounter. They chose an enemy, took a swing and it died. one dingo lunched at Belle and she deftly dodged it. The second set was a group of nezumi highwaymen. Things started to get a lot more difficult.

Garnet walked with the rest of the "big wigs" out of the restaurant and into the arcade across from it. They informally discussed policies, whether there would be tariffs on trade, international law, and most importantly, the scheduled more official meetings to set these rules officially. Cluny asked one of his soldiers where Belle and their guests were. He pointed to the back of the establishment. Garnet eyed the business. It likely more advanced than anything in Lindblum. And it was all just distractions for children and the immature. They entered the holo-vidcon lobby and saw that they were in the middle of a game. Garnet watched her son and husband battle imaginary gargoyles with imaginary weapons. They looked like they were having a good enough time. But all she could think about was whether she had made the right decision in making this all possible. Her face darkened as she recalled an event over twenty years in the past.

Garnet had just had an audience with Oracle Kildea. The new high priestess of Cleyra. What was left of it. The oracle had humbly asked for the jewel taken during the attack on Cleyra. The wanted it to restart their defensive sandstorm. Garnet had graciously offered it, as well as whatever else she could spare for them. She had meant supplies and materials. aid for survival and rebuilding. Even workers to help. But things took a strange turn when one of Kildea's companions made a very strange request. Unbridled access to anything recovered from the Terrans. Records, documents, artifacts. Stranger still was the one who made these demands. A fiery little girl. One who suffered a lot at the hands of her mother. Garnet could see a lot of fury in her eyes. Far too much for such a young child. The girl wasn't even dressed like a Cleyran child. Something Zidane never saw during his visit with Freya. They had hidden them away from the tree along with many of the hunters and farmers of the pacifist community. It was the smartest thing they did. She wore a tattered burmecian commoner's dress with the left arm completely destroyed. The arm itself was wrapped in a heavy cloth. This was not the first of this kind of meeting in the two years that Garnet had taken the throne. The mess that Kuja had left the planet in was taking it's toll on the youthful, caring young lady. She gave her decisions all the weight in the world. And it was hardly ever easy. Currently Zidane was arguing with Beatrix about whether to honor the little girl's request.

"Come on, B! The kid seems dead set on the notion that it will help her people. Doctor Tot can't make heads or tails of any of this crap anyway." Zidane said. Garnet tried to interject.

"Ye-" Was all Garnet could get out.

"Which is exactly why we can't just hand out _Terran artifacts_ like old pieces of furniture!" Beatrix said, wondering why she even needed to explain this.

"Th-" Garnet said.

"I don't know. The oracle spent a couple years in that huge library. She even started gathering a following of nezumi there. I think out of anyone, they'll have the best shot at cracking it. And what safer place for all of it than the middle of a huge, endless sandstorm?"

"We-" The queen spoke. She reached for a drawer under her large mahogany desk and pulled out a bottle of amber fluid and a tiny glass.

"Yes and who's to say what they will do with that kind of power? Who's to say what kind of secrets these things even contain?" Beatrix argued.

"I-" The young woman tried once again to get a word in.

"What, the _Cleyrans?_ They'll use it to make another big tree or do more interpretive dance. Maybe they'll some big breakthroughs in _farming._ " Zidane said.

"It's not-" Garnet managed two syllables that time. She unscrewed the bottle. Just one shot of brandy and she would get a better hold of the situation. That's all she needed. It was her go-to aid for really tough calls. And there have been a lot of those.

" **Farming?** Do you think the **alien invaders** who have plotted against us **for thousands of years** have intricate notes on farming? Do you really think that girl is interesting in _tradition Cleyran values_? If it was up _me,_ We'd gather anything of otherworldly origin and have it **destroyed!** Our _only_ priority should be the safety of Alexandria!" Beatrix declared. Garnet was about to pour some brandy into her shot glass. But she stopped then and there. That last sentence hit a nerve. Before they could continue, Zidane and Beatrix turned their heads upon hearing the very sharp noise of glass shattering. Tiny shards on the floor by the wall were all that remained of the shot glass. They had to turn their head back to their queen, who was currently kicking back the bottle of Brandy like a someone given water for the first time in days. They watched the petite young woman down half the bottle like it was nothing. She then slammed the bottle back onto the desk and threw her head down. Breathing heavily for a few moments. When she lifted her head, her face was unlike either of them had seen it like before. Aside from the very un-queen-like trail of liquor running down her chin, it was her eyes. This wasn't the naive, sheltered girl who tried intimidating a pair of evil jesters by calling them scumbags. There was an intensity in her eyes that dwarfed that of the little Cleyran girl by an order of magnitude. Something beyond mere frustration or even rage. But it wasn't a trance. Garnet wiped her mouth with her arm.

 **"Oh, is that all?!"** She asked. Not expecting an answer, she continued.

 **"Why stop with Terran objects?! I hear Lindblum likes to** _ **invent shit!**_ **Someone could use that against our precious country!"** Garnet walked around her desk and approached Beatrix. It was clear that she had a bit of a bone to pick. Likely for some time.

 **"In fact the genomes and the black mages are still out in the outer continent! We better put a stop to that! But, what am I talking about?! First we should focus on the real threat! The one right in our back yard!"** The queen of Alexandria raved. Now that the cap was off, it wasn't going back on.

 **"I just** _ **can't**_ __ **have those** _ **filthy RATS**_ **rising up to challenge me! We better do something about them before they make a move against us!"** She was literally jabbing Beatrix in the chest with her finger.

 **"Is that what you fucking want, Beatrix? Keep the rats down until you can finish the job?!...** **Huerrgh** **."** Garnet took a step back and grasped her temple. Zidane was covering his mouth with both hands. His pupils were pin-pricks. In any other situation, he would be proud of his wife. It was her first ever use of the f-bomb. Beatrix was speechless. It wasn't that she had never been confronted about her role in Brahnes campaign, but to be cut into so harshly by the last person that she'd expect. Garnet recomposed herself and even calmed down a little.

"We're gon- Hrrk... We're going to the Cleyrans what they want. Everything that they have asked for. All of Kuja's shit. Everything recovered from anywhere that he or Garland set up shop. And you know what? I _hope_ that they can build something that can stand up to us. Because if _they_ can sleep peacefully at night, then maybe _I'll_ be able to. But then I don't know what it's like to have enough _honor_ and _loyalty_ to **blindly launch a fucking campaign of genocide!"** The queen of Alexandria spat out in disgust. She walked behind Beatrix and began to speak into her ear.

"But I do trust you to obey my orders to a _t._ Do you know why? Because I'll _begrudgingly_ abide a myrmidon. But if I think, for just one second, that you actually _can_ go against your queen's orders when it's convenient for you. Then I'll have you executed where you stand. And I'll be sure to do _that job myself!_ " Garnet's icy tone left no room to interpret her words. This wasn't passion or booze talking. She moved towards the door to her office, but stopped a few feet away and turned back.

"We're purging every bit of this Terran garbage from my country and doing **something** to repair our relations to our most bereaved victim. Two birds, one stone. And yet the one that deserves to die gets to keep living. So when you're proven right and Cleyrans come knocking with whatever stupid crap Garland might have had up his sleeve. Then you can show me that you're still the right canary for the job." Garnet said and she reached for the door. As she was about to open it. She halted and suddenly vomited on the floor by the wall.

 **"And get somebody to clean this up!"** She yelled as she stormed away. Not even bothering to wipe the bile from her chin. It was a very rare time when Zidane Tribal was completely at a loss for what occurred around him, or how to handle it. And despite the reputable constitution of the world's strongest fighter and cold-hearted general, Beatrix was on the razor's edge of breaking down entirely. Garnet burst back in the room and didn't say a word. She just took the bottle of brandy and left just as suddenly. As she stormed off she almost crashed into Steiner, who had been running late after a prior obligation. He was completely flabbergasted by the current state of the queen. Nor was he given any chance to ask questions.

 **"The fuck are** _ **you**_ **looking at?"** She said and kept walking, having still never wiped the puke from her chin. He just walked into the royal office to see his wife holding back tears and the king looking just as confused as he was.

Garnet was spooked out of her thoughts by the crowd cheering. A team attack by two genome men and two nezumi women had beaten one of the hardest enemies in the game. "And this was just an amusement." Garnet thought. "After all that, my canary got herself killed before I needed her anyway."

"Hmph!" Garnet crossed her arms and looked at the vidcon screen.

Oof. That was tough to write. A good bit longer than what I expected to do. I'm going to borrow another thing from all those DBZ fanfics that I used to read. If anyone has questions or feedback. Feel free to write it in a review. And I'll do my best to respond at the end of the next chapter. :D


	4. Advanced Conquered

The first thing John noticed as he woke up was how much cooler it was than when he went to sleep. A gentle patter of rain hit his window attested to why. He grabbed a pocket watch from his nightstand and took a look at it. It was fifteen before six. "Dad said seven. I should get up, but I reeeeaaaally don't want to." he thought. John rubbed his temple and laid completely still for about five seconds, gathering the willpower to get out of bed. He then threw his blankets aside and got up.

"Huaaagh!" John groaned as he stretched. He had taken a hell of a warm bath after that fight with the monster, and had eaten a hearty meal. So he felt pretty good that morning. Still, he was less than thrilled about going to Lindblum. Even by airship, the trip took forever. Lindblum was all the way on the other side of the continent. He had been there plenty of times for this or that reason, and it could be fun enough. But the idea of spending several days at a time and taking a long-ass airship ride home just didn't appeal to him. He got dressed regardless, and after grabbing some fruit from the royal kitchen, he retrieved his sword and showed up at the gate nice and early. Darron was there already, he leaned against the city wall for that little bit of shelter from the light drizzle. John perched next to him, and they waited. Darron looked over towards him.

"Wait, shouldn't you be boarding an airship?" Darron asked.

"It's waiting for me at Dali, I'm gonna take a carriage there. You know. So this trip takes _fourteen_ hours instead of ten." John said grumpily. He crossed his arms and furrowed his brow. Darron shrugged and blew air out of his mouth.

"Pfff. Hey, at least you'll probably be dry most of the time. I'm gonna be sucking shit in the Burmecian wilderness. In the rain." Darron said, scowling. John considered what he said for a few seconds. Darron noticed him pondering, and immediately understood what he was planning. John said it anyway.

"You... Uh, wanna trade? You can go to Lindblum and all the beautiful ladies there will fawn over you. I'll hop on over to Burmecia-" John spoke until Darron interrupted him.

"And _all the beautiful ladies there will fawn over you?"_ Darron said, gently jabbing his friend in the arm. John bit his lower lip, smiled, and briefly raised his eyebrows a couple times.

" _Hey, now!_ No, but seriously. I'm willing to switch with you if you're down for it." John said. Darron cupped his chin in his hand and thought about it. He vaguely recalled a conversation that he overheard from his parents at one point or another. Something about how Beatrix didn't like the idea of John going to Burmecia. Darron remembered his own mother something like "John would find out sooner or later." But this was a long time ago, and Darron wasn't terribly interested at the time. Darron's eyes shifted left and right. John tried further to pressure his friend.

"You know, technically neither of us actually answer to my mother. I'm a knight of Pluto, and you're the prince. The only one who will care is my mom. And we'll just tell her we got in the wrong ones by mistake. I would never do anything to upset her _on purpose."_ He pitched to Darron. Darron smirked.

"Yeah, alright." Darron said as he shrugged. John jokingly did a little victory pose and brought his fist up. Darron bumped it with his own. Two chocobo carriages driven by Alexandrian soldiers approached. They were moving alongside the walls of the city as they had exited through another gate. They stopped in front of the two boys and saluted the prince.

"Which one of you is going to Dali?" Darron asked. The one closest to them spoke up.

"I am, your majesty." She said. Darron nodded. He did his best to put on his _official face_ , stern and observative.

"Very good. My friend and I shall inspect the cargo in the back of the carriages before we enter. Well give the roof a knock when we are ready to depart." He said in his most regal sounding tone. The two soldiers smirked and looked at each other. It wasn't the first time little Darron pretended to be hot shit. But they thought nothing of it. John and Darron headed towards the back of the carriages. They slipped behind one of them, spent a minute shuffling through nothing, before peaking at the soldiers to make sure they weren't looking. They then quickly climbed into the carriage meant for each other. John heard a knock from the other carriage and then did so himself. A few seconds later, the carriage started to move and John slumped into his seat. He fell asleep not long after.

John woke up to the sound of a light rain and a voice calling from outside the carriage.

"Prince Darron! We've arrived at the north gate. We'll reach Burmecia in less than two hours." John rubbed his temple and needed a moment to remember what was going on. The soldier still thinks that Darron was in this carriage.

"Huh? Oh...Uh." John altered his voice to a slightly insulting interpretation of Darrons.

"Erhem! Wonderful news, soldier! I look forward to protecting innocent surveyors and improving my diplomantic abilities! My name's Darron Alexandros, and I _loooooooooove_ sucking **big,** sweaty cock, and licking disgusting, furry testicle sacks!" John smiled, deciding it was too late for the soldiers to turn back. He could drop the facade.

"Um... Ok..." The soldier said. John decided to push the joke further.

"I remember my first experience with dick. I was with my father. And he said to me _Hey, son! You wanna learn how I made money back in my tantalus days?_ And then he took me to see that Amarant guy. And we both went to town on that thing, and I was hooked ever since!" John said in his slightly insulting Darron voice. Except for the Zidane bit, which he used an extremely insulting falsetto for. That was enough for the woman to slide open a small window behind her back and gaze into the carriage. John peered back at her with a big, innocent smile. He noticed the soldier's immediate look of alarm. He guessed he should have expected the soldier to not be thrilled about John disobeying his mother's orders. But he couldn't quite figure out why the woman seemed so perturbed about seeing him instead of the prince. John knew his mother well enough. The only one's one would be in hot water for this would be him and Darron. But he didn't think too much of it, He opened a hatch and climbed on top of the still moving carriage. He looked around and saw the all sorts of stands and tents, even some permanent buildings. Everywhere he looked, there where were nezumi, humans, and other sentient beings. They were trading, haggling, browsing, passing through. It was raining, but it was pretty light and the temperate air made it the whole thing feel welcoming. John carefully climbed next to the soldier on the driver's seat. There was plenty of room for both of them. He gave a few more cursory looks at the varied shops, and trade and travel businesses as the passed by.

They entered the Burmecian wilderness and the light drizzle kept it's steady pace. John tried to make small talk, and the soldier tried to play it cool, but he could tell she was still on edge. It didn't take long for the carriage to reach the city of Burmecia. They could see the walls in the distance. It was clear that John was excited. He had never been there, despite it's relative proximity. He didn't notice the soldier's apprehension grow. And she turned her head, wondering if at this final moment she should try to keep him from entering. Ultimately, she decided to continue. John grew visibly more excited as they approached. By the time they got about a hundred yards, he was practically giddy. It wasn't hard to understand why. Either you didn't do a lot of traveling in your life, or you've visited one of the few settlements on the continent at least once already. Visiting a new place like he was about to was something to be cherished. It's why the safer roadways was such a big deal.

"Man, I can't believe I've never been to Burmecia before! Every time I tried, My parents would have something for me to do, suddenly." He said. The soldier grimaced and she looked away.

"You don't say..." She said. The carriage arrives outside the main gate of Burmecia. The one that faced south. A lone soldier stood vigil. John looked around and then made eye contact with the Burmecian.

"Hi there! I was sent to help keep the road surveyors safe. But I don't see anyone. We're not late, are we?" John asked. The Burmecian pointed towards the east.

"Hail! No, no. The road is planned to start at an eastern entrance of the city. Take this main road down a short ways until you hit a road about as wide called "Burmece Avenue" and go right! You can't miss it." He said. John excitedly hopped out of the carriage and started running into the city.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Thank you, sir! See you tomorrow evening, Sarge!" John yelled out as he happily ran towards the street. The two soldiers watched him disappear.

"Was that... The Steiner boy? I don't think I've ever seen him before." The Burmecian said.

"His, uh... mother was never fond of the idea of him visiting." The Alexandrian soldier said, awkwardly. The Burmecian soldier's eyes narrowed a tiny bit, into a deadpan expression.

"You don't say..." He said.

John happily ran towards the designated area. One turn at a large street. It was hard to screw up. As he made the turn, he slowed to a brisk walk. John's head quickly shifted to and fro. Taking in the sights as he made his way to the eastern wall. From what he could tell, Burmecia was around the same size as Alexandria, but it didn't seem as heavily populated. "Perhaps they just like to stay indoors out of the rain." John thought. He continued, making note of all the interesting looking shops and places. He caught a whiff of a diner called Ratigan's and knew where he'd head that evening for dinner. After a little while, he made it to the outskirts of the city. Their, work had already begun on the foundations right outside the walls. Cutting through the work zone, He asked around until he was pointed to the group that he was looking for. Three surveyors. This time two Burmecians and a human. He waved as he approached. They smiled and waved back. Behind them, he could see two Burmecian soldiers and two Burmecian women. The soldiers were wearing their traditional uniforms, and the woman were wearing pretty typical Burmecian dresses. They did wear a light padded vest, and had each had some sort of weapon in strange scabbards. One with dark brown hair in a bun wore it on a thick belt, and the other had it slung under her left arm. She had light blonde hair. From a distance, they looked like daggers, but they were too bulky and oddly shaped. They each also had several pockets and pouches on their persons.

The two soldiers looked at him coldly. John thought that they probably didn't want a foreigner's help. He could understand that. One of the Burmecian women, the brunette looked at him strangely, but extended her hand.

"Hi. Prince Darron?" She greeted, then asked. John took her hand and shook it.

"The prince had another engagement. He sends his sincerest apologies. My name is Lieutenant Johnathan Steiner. I'll be fulfilling his role in the coming days." He said, doing an alright job at sounding professional. He shook the other Burmecian woman's hand, but the two men seemed to keep their distance.

"The surveyors look like they're ready." One of them said. The surveyors began to move and the five armed guards moved with them. The two soldiers moved ahead, seemingly in a very dour mood. As they moved farther away from the Burmecian walls, John stayed close behind the surveyors with the two women. So far, everything has been clear. The trio of surveyors used a similar setup as the ones in Alexandria. A series of wooden stakes to mark where the road will go and then workers will follow suit, laying the foundations and continuing work from there.

The soldiers seemed like they wanted to keep to themselves, and the surveyors were busy. So John kept alongside the two ladies. They kept a vigilant eye, but everything seemed clear.

"So, I didn't catch either of your names." John said to them. The brunette glanced at the blonde, who gives her a stern look.

"Ahem... My name's Lucy Gunn. And this is my sister." She said. John waited for her to finish her sentence. After a few seconds, he spoke up.

"Your _sisteeeer...?"_ John pressed for the other Burmecian girl's name. Lucy looked over to her sister. Perhaps for instruction. The blonde girl finally spoke up.

"Just call me... Uh... Bullseye!" She said, having obviously made that up on the spot.

 _"Bullseye?!"_ Both John and Lucy asked incredulously. The blonde nezumi crossed her arms and closed her eyes. Annoyed at having to force the nickname.

"Yes. _Bullseye._ As in when I aim, I get a bullseye. Eh?" She said. Asking if they got it. John scratched his head, looking confused.

"Huh. But I don't see a bow anywhere. Besides. We're going to be comrades in arms for the foreseeable future. Let's have your real name, huh?" John said, leaning up close to her with a big grin. Bullseye was clearly taken aback by this. She didn't want to share her name, and she didn't want to explain why. She looked towards her sister. Lucy was giving her a smug grin. Some family she was. Bullseye though. But then Lucy playfully jabbed John in the arm with her elbow. Her smug, coy look fell upon him.

"Settle down, lover boy. My sister will tell you her name when... You've... Proven yourself in battle!" She said, thinking on the spot. John and Bullseye blushed. He straightened his back and put his hands up.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Stealing hearts is Darron's thing. I'm the loveable doofus! We gotta carry our parents legacy, you know?" He said, just a tiny bit flustered. Joh

 **"Hmph!"** One of the soldiers ahead overheard John's statement and let out a sound of disgust. The trio in the rear looked over to see them both glowering at him. John eyed them curiously. After a terse moment they turned back around to focus on the path ahead. John cupped his chin with his hand.

"Hmmm? What was that all about?" He asked. Lucy and her sister turned away from him and leaned in towards each other.

"He seems kind of clueless. Does he really not know what his mother did to Burmecia?" Lucy whispered to her sister.

"It makes sense. I mean, would **you** tell your kid all about all that _genocide_ you committed back in the day?" Bullseye quietly shot back. Lucy looked towards the ground in thought.

"Uuhhh. Yeah, I guess that would be an awkward conversation, huh?" Lucy said. Bullseye was about to say something, but she and her sister were interrupted by John appearing right between the two, a hand on each of their shoulders. He gave them each an inquizitive look.

"Hey. What are we talking about? Pesticides? Is that why we haven't encountered any monsters yet?" John asked. The two women dashed backwards a bit. Startled at the man sneaking up on them. John grinned innocently at them. It was more than a little rude of him. But he needed to be bold, at least he thought he did. Making friends in the castle was always an awkward affair. The two girls didn't seem too mad though, just surprised.

"Ah-heh-heh! No! Yes! No! There was a fungus. Like a blight that was affecting our crops. And uh, we used special pesticides from Lindblum." Bullseye said, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Yeah! That, uh, that one really did a number on our crops." Suzy added. Neither of them wanted to be catalyst for such an awkward conversation.

"Oh yeah! Good thing our **population was so small!** Or else that would have been a real problem!" One of the soldiers barked from up ahead. John looked at him curiously. He scratched his head as he eyed the Burmecian man. The nezumi returned his gaze with a bitter glare.

"Huh? What's he saying?" John asked. Lucy and her sister cast nervous glances at each other.

"They, uh... Hey, don't worry about them. We should, uh... Um..." Lucy stumbled over her words.

"I see a pack of dire wolves approaching. Look alive!" Bullseye said. Pointing ahead. John held up his fist in an exaggerated action pose.

"Alright! Time to earn that name!" John said with a confident smile before running up ahead to join the two soldiers and meet the attacking wolves. Lucy gave her sister a mocking grin. Bullseye looked back with a blushing scowl. Then the two dashed ahead to join the battle.

John ground to a halt side by side with the two soldiers, who had their swords drawn. John drew his own weapon and the three formed a line between the wolves and the surveyors. John counted over a dozen of them. Perhaps even twenty. They would try to surround them.

"So what's our plan?" John asked the soldiers as he took a battle stance. The soldier closest to him looked over.

"Stand in a line and trade blows." The soldier said sarcastically. John looked at him blankly, then looked towards the approaching wolves and smiled.

"I like it!" He said. The first few wolves were just a few feet away. One of them lunged towards John, who timed his sword swing so it lashed across it's underbelly. Killing it instantly. One Burmecian was able to lunge his sword so it pierced through an attacking wolf's skull. The other Burmecian side-stepped and caught a wolf in the side, another fatal blow. John was glad that these guys were no pushovers. If they could keep getting the wolves individually, John thought, then the monsters shouldn't be too much of a problem. As if they read his mind, the remaining predators grouped up. They would easily be able to overwhelm the trio. John steeled himself, as did his two reluctant comrades. But as the large group of wolves closed in, they heard a shout from behind.

 **"Duck!"** It was one of the girls. The two soldiers did so instantly and John followed a split second later. He wondered what the point of this was, and he worried for his life. He then heard a loud bang. Followed quickly by a series of others. He saw several of the closest attacking wolves fall over. taking some kind of wound as blood erupted from them.

"What the hell kind of arrows are those?" John asked aloud as the bangs kept coming. He looked back to see each woman holding a small silver object in their hands. He couldn't make out the details, but the smoke coming from them told him that they were the source of the noise, and the projectiles hitting the wolves. John smiled. Some kind of tiny cannons. He knew this place would be cool.

" **All out!"** The girls shouted. The two soldiers got back up and resumed a fighting pose. John once again followed suit. The strange weapons really did a number on the assaulting pack. There were maybe seven or eight left. Much more manageable. At this point, it was all about timing and positioning. Keep them all to your front. Let them come to you. Cut them down as they attack. If more than one attack, dodge and fall back. John took a wolf down with an overhead slash. Nothing fancy. Getting one's weapon lodged into a body would be suicide with this many attackers. He saw the soldiers next to him kill two more with precise swings. Another wolf attacked John, who was able to make short work of it. Unfortunately, two more were right behind it. A look of fear fell upon John's face and he dashed a few feet back. Turning and running would be a huge mistake, so he brought up his weapon in a defensive stance. The attack didn't come as the soldiers each deftly killed one of them. For a split second, John thought he could breath a sigh of relief.

 **"Oh shit!"** The soldier closest to him cried out and made a took a hasty defensive pose as one final wolf lunged at him. John didn't know if he would be quick enough to strike it down. He looked towards the other soldier and saw him pulling his sword from the earlier wolf's corpse. He was a similar distance from the accosted soldier. John rushed forward and thrust his left arm in front of the nezumi, and right in front of the wolf's gaping maw. The soldier watched wide-eyed as the wolf chomped down on the human's arm. Sharp teeth dug deep into the flesh of his forearm and bright red blood erupted from it.

 **"OOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWW!"** John howled out in severe pain. The force of the wolf's body sent his arm flying back. Knocking the creature's intended target on his back and causing John to lose his footing. He took a huge step back as his body pivoted hard to the left. It took all of his strength and willpower to keep from falling over. He swung his sword into the wolves side. But because he was so close, he struck it with the dull part of the sword closer to the hilt. The other Nezumi gave a glancing blow across it's back. He held back due to the close proximity to his two comrades. This at least caused the wolf to dislodge from the young man's arm. John weakly lifted his sword with his right arm. One Burmecian man was still on his back, and the other was still uneasy with how close the creature was to the other two swordsmen. Too late, The wolf made a lunge for John. He braced himself for the attack. The wolf looked ready to lunge, but it never got the chance. As it readied it's jump, another series of loud bangs rang out. The wolf made several sudden jerking motions, before falling dead on the ground.

The three warriors looked back to see the two women brandishing their small, smoking weapons. The steadily walked forward, and the five looked around to see if any more threats were incoming. Scanning the hilly, green plains was simple enough. And they were relieved to see them empty. John tightly gripped the wound on his arm. One of the soldiers reached into his bag and pulled out a potion. He hurriedly hands it to John.

"Drink this! It'll help, but it's not nearly enough. We gotta get you to a doctor." He said. John smiled weakly.

"It's fine! It's fine!" John said. He winced as he waved his hand. He then leaned towards Lucy and Bullseye and hid his mouth from the soldiers' sight.

"It's not fine. I just wanna look like a cool guy in front of these two. They didn't seem to like me earlier! This actually hurts like hell!" John whispered very, very audibly. His arm still dripping with blood. The four nezumi looked at him confusedly. Then at each other. John chugged the potion that he was given.

"Um. I'm pretty sure they could hear you." Bullseye said awkwardly. John blushed and smiled as he cast a glance at them. He began to sway.

"Hmmh. I... Uh... I _did_ lose a lot of blood... So...Uhhnnn." John groaned as he fell forward. He blacked out before he hit the ground.

John woke up in a small, but very clean bed. An older female nezumi greeted him.

"Oh hello! I'm surprised you awoke so soon. That was a really nasty bite. Luckily we have a very adept white mage on our staff, or that arm would have been out of commission for quite some time!" She said warmly. John sat up and tried to flex his left arm. It was still a little sore and very, very stiff.

"Lucky me, huh?" John said as he winced. John slowly swung his arm back and forth. As he did so, he felt the pins and needles go away and his arm loosened up. John got out of the bed.

"How much do I owe you?" John asked the woman. She smiled warmly and waved her hand.

"Oh, don't you worry about that, dearie. Queen Garnet, herself had arranged to pay handsomely for any Alexandrian wounded while working with or helping Burmecians. The good queen has always kept our people in her heart. Ever since she took over after her mother." John averted his gaze. The mention of old Queen Brahne reminded him of the cold reception he received when he first arrived.

"Ma'am. If I... wanted to... learn more about the attack on Burmecia, where would I go?" John asked her. She gave him a blank stare for a second, then resumed her cheerful nature.

"Oh sure! There's a museum about four blocks down the road towards the palace. You can't miss it!" She said. John bowed his head.

"Thank you. I think I'm fit to leave now, if that's alright." John said politely. The woman nodded cheerily.

"No problem, son. You just take it easy with that arm for the next day or so. Oh, and have a big meal with lots of water!" She said. He nodded and smiled warmly at the nice woman. Hiding his concern. John collected his things and left the soft blue painted room.

Lucy followed her sister to the small clinic that they had to lug their ally to a few hours ago. It was getting late, but she knew her sibling wanted to make sure the Alexandrian was ok. It _was_ a really nasty bite, Lucy supposed. It didn't take them long to reach the building.

"Hey, I'm gonna gave a cigarette. I'll come inside in a few minutes." Lucy said. Bullseye nodded and Lucy made it halfway through her smoke before the other nezumi stepped out of the building, alone. Bullseye had a rather strange expression on her face. A look of discomfort and mild concern. Lucy perked up.

"Everything alright, Sis?" Lucy asked. She was at least a little curious of the human's well being. The blonde nezumi breathed in through her teeth.

"Beatrix' kid went to the memorial hall." Bullseye said. A look of mirth exploded on Lucy's face as she only half hid her laughter.

" **Ooooh** _ **nooooo!**_ Skeh-hehe-ssss." Lucy said while putting her palms on her cheeks. Bullseye glowered at her, and then took off towards the museum.

"Im'ma see if he's alright." Lucy rolled her eyes, but she followed her sister.

"He probably doesn't give a shit. Most humans don't. Not really." Lucy said. Bullseye looked back towards her and frowned, but she knew that was a possibility. They arrived at an ornate, well-kept building and were greeted warmly by an elderly receptionist at a desk.

"Hello dears. I'm sorry, but we'll be closing soon. Please return tomorrow." She said politely. Bullseye bowed slightly and clasped her hands behind her back.

"Actually, ma'am. We just have a question. Did a large human man happen to visit? Brown hair, had a sword?" Bullseye asked. The old woman nodded.

"Oh yes! He arrived a few hours ago, and spent quite some time reading the accounts. You know, it's always awkward when Alexandrians visit this place, but this large fellow seemed really upset. It's likely that his mother took part in the attacks." The old museum caretaker mused. Bullseye's brow furrowed.

"You don't say... He didn't happen to say where he was going next. Did he?" She asked.

"Can't say he did. He left in a bit of a hurry. Sorry, dearie." The old woman said. Both girls bowed.

"No, no. Thank you very much." Lucy said. They took their leave and began to head home. Lucy could tell that her sister was still concerned, but they had no idea where the knight headed to after he left the museum. Lucy was sure he'd be over it by tomorrow, when they'd head out again.

Halfway home, they cut through one of the less populous streets where they stopped dead in their tracks. At the stoop of a large, abandoned tenant building sat the man they were looking for. Lucy half-jokingly groaned.

"Ugh. And I thought we could just quickly get home for dinner after we missed him at the museum." she said. She got a jab in the arm from her sister for that remark. As they got closer, they could see the young man was affected by what he had learned. He sat on the second to bottom step with his knees held close to his body. He looked to be deep in thought as he stared at the ground not too far in front of him. Bullseye approached him and he still didn't notice her even as she was a few feet away. Completely lost in thought. She got a good look at his face. She couldn't quite tell, but he looked like he might have been crying earlier. She finally decided to clear her throat to get his attention.

"Er- **ahem!"** John's eyes snapped towards the nezumi as he was taken from his thoughts. After the initial startle, he tried to put on a friendly face. Making eye contact. Bullseye could tell he was trying to hide the fact that he was upset. He wasn't doing a good job at it.

"Oh! Hello, Bullseye." John said. He sprung up, but he did so a little clumsily. Losing his balance for a second. It was clear he was sitting there for a good while. He straightened himself out and bowed slightly.

"Thank you both for taking me to a doctor. I promise not to be a burden next time." He said. The Burmecians both smiled modestly.

"Eheheh! Don't worry about it! You did great, today. Really!" Bullseye said. John blushed a little. An awkward silence passed for a few seconds. Until Bullseye broke it.

"Listen... I wanted to make sure you were ok." She said. John flexed his left arm.

"Oh yeah! The white mage made it good as new! I'll be fighting fit for tomorrow morning!" John said confidently.

"No, not that. The nurse said you went to the memorial hall, that you wanted to know more about the attacks twenty years ago." Bullseye said. John flinched. His face betrayed his sadness and his lip quivered. A second later he recomposed himself.

"Yes... Um... My... _mother_ never really told me what happened here in detail." John said, glumly. John sat back onto the stoop.

"What did you think happened?" Lucy asked frankly. John shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess I assumed you guys were... uh... _regular conquered?"_ He said. It wasn't the most articulate way of putting it, but they understood well enough what he meant. Regular conquered: defeated, taken over, but at least allowed to surrender and live. A mercy that Brahne only afforded to Lindblum. Bullseye could see how he would come to that conclusion. Nobody spoke for a moment. John stood up again. He looked around the street. The lawns and even the building themselves were covered in overgrowth. odd trash was scattered here and there, and the whole area was in obvious disrepair. Most telling of all, there was no one around. The whole area was devoid of life barring the three visitors. John held his arm out towards the surrounding buildings.

"This is a result of my mother's actions." He said with a little disgust in his voice. Bullseye nodded. Even twenty years later, There were streets like this all over the city. Neither sister knew what to say. John then turned to them and forced another half-hearted smile.

"Well. I'll do whatever it takes to repay my family's debts. I don't know how, but I will... Well. I'll see you both tomorrow. Besides, I still gotta earn that name!" The Alexandrian turned and slowly walked away. Bullseye could tell that he was still really beaten up inside.

"It's Misty." She said suddenly. John paused. and looked around.

"It's not that bad out. A little drizzly, but pretty clear." He said, a little confused. He continued to walk away.

"No, dummy. That's my name. Misty." She said. Her brow was furrowed. She didn't like sharing her real name with strangers. John paused, he didn't turn around.

"...Heehee! _Misty?_ _ **Misty**_ _from the_ _ **Mist Continent?!**_ Hahahaha!" John said laughing. Lucy sniggered for a second. Misty frowned and cracked her knuckles.

"Yeah. Keep laughing and I'll send you back to that clinic! I only told you cause you looked so down!" She said angrily. This was the usual response to people learning her name, and the reason she didn't like sharing it. John turned around and bowed.

"I'm sorry! It's a lovely name. Really! Thank you for sharing it with me!" John said. Spirits lifted just a bit, he gave a genuine smile and then turned around once more.

"Well. I better get some rest. I'll meet both at the gates, Lucy and _Misty._ _Hee hee!_ _"_ Misty watched him walk away with a spring in his step. Meanwhile, Lucy eyed her sister. It wasn't like to her take a shining to others so quickly. She was always a little introverted. She never even showed too much interest in boys when she grew old enough to. And suddenly, after one little scrape with a pack of wolves, she acted like this human. This _Alexandrian_ was close kin. Lucy was completely bewildered by this for all of three seconds until it clicked. As Misty still watched the human go with a concerned face, Lucy's own face twisted into a smug, knowing grin. It took all of her willpower to keep silent and not burst out laughing. She just kept the bemused and condescending look trained on her sister until finally Misty noticed and shot Lucy back with a confused look.

"What? What's so funny?" She asked. Lucy didn't respond, she just kept making that face.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Misty asked again. Lucy waited a few more seconds before finally responding.

"You're _Dapper!_ _"_ Lucy said in a slightly quiet voice. Still making that face. Misty's face immediately turned bright red. And then she shrunk away a little from her sister.

" **What?!... Am not!...** Shut up!" Misty began to blush even more furiously as her sister finally couldn't contain it and burst out in laughter.

End chapter.

Draen: Cleyra's immediate plans are a bit more amicable than that. For now Adel is content with flexing her nation's muscle and testing the international waters.

Guest: Thanks! I intend to delve into Garnet's story a lot more in the future.


	5. Make Burmecia Great Again

Chapter V: MAKE BURMECIA GREAT AGAIN

Ashley woke up to the faint sound of her parents' snoring. She slowly opened her eyes, just happy that she wasn't being woken up for formation. She took a look around. A huge hotel room. She was lying in a massive, soft bed. And her body was underneath a thick, luxurious blanket. Ashley was so tired after last night, that she had little time to take in the surroundings of the hotel room. She was actually pretty tuckered out after that sim-yoo-lation that she played with the Alexandrians and the Cleyran. After they finished, General Cluny decided to take Puck and Fratley for a spin. He had asked Freya to try her skills, but she had declined. So Ashley had watched her father and her king join the Cleyran general in game room. John had taken Freya's declined spot, and the rest of the group watched as the four guys almost beat her group's score. The king and prince of Alexandria sat down. They were both visually exhausted. Breathing hard and sweaty. Ashley was in a similar state. Even Belle, the Cleyran who brought them was showing some signs of exertion. Although not nearly as much.

The rest of the group waited semi-patiently. Garnet briefly left the arcade and found another soda machine. She returned with a bottle that she was gently swirling in her hand. After they finished their game, It was unanimously decided that they'd all get some shut-eye. Of course, President Kildea put all of her guests in _Cleyra's finest hotel._ Four luxury suites at the top of a very tall building. The Marriratt hotel was one of the tallest buildings in Cleyra City, which made it one of the tallest buildings in the world. Ashley slowly got up. She tried to go about quietly as to not wake her parents. Even the room, now that Ashley took the time to get a good look at it. The room was huge and ornate. Everything about it screamed "high society" despite the differences that Cleyra's culture showed thus far. Ashley had been to fancy hotels and palace guest rooms before. But the strange technological marvels seemed to permeate all around her. The temperature was maintained by gently humming vents along the walls. There was a large panel that they used to view recordings of events. Ashley wanted to fool around with it, but she would have to wait for her parents to wake up. She tiptoed about the room. There was a kitchen with several large devices. An oven, what looked like a small oven. And an electrical ice box. She opened it and saw several bottles. Most of it was alcoholic, but there was a few of the colas that she tried at the restaurant. Ashley was tempted to take one, but she decided against it and opened a clear bottle of water. Her thirst sated, and with Freya and Fratley still showing no signs of life, Ashley decided to open the sliding glass door to the room's balcony.

Ashley couldn't help but gasp as she took the view in. It was very early dawn. So many of the tall towers were still brightly lit. In the center of the city, Ashley was surrounded by the most stunning of the towers. _Skyscrapers_ _,_ She overheard a Cleyran call them. She saw one that was almost as tall as the building she was in. It had a long, bright pink strip of light from top to bottom. Another building was shorter than most of the ones surrounding it, but it would still be very impressive anywhere else. It was more of a brick and mortar building. A shade of deep red with a large Cleyran Flag in front of it. Ashley saw them all over the place. The same white silhouette of a tree in front of a wide brown stripe, all against a solid, light blue backdrop. The not-as-tall brick building seemed out of place, but it was clearly important. She saw countless vehicles stopping, going in and out of an underground parking area. The building next to it had a bright, neon red sign with _"Boka Cola"_ written in fancy lettering. Ashley's admiration was cut short as the sun rose and most of the lights shut off. Ashley heard her parents start to get up. She decided to take in the view a bit more. She watched the sunrise until she heard a loud spray of running water.

"Honey, look! They fashioned these bath pipes to rain like Burmecia used to!" Ashley heard her father explain.

 **"Hot! Hot! ... Cold! Cold!"** Fratley seemed to be struggling with the bath system.

"Let me see it, dear." Freya said. Ashley heard a series of soft metal squeaks.

"Ahhh. Perfectly warm. Now, since I got it to work properly, I shall bathe first." Freya said matter-of-factly.

"Can't argue with that logic, schnookums." Fratley said. After another few seconds, Fratley spoke again.

"Huh. There's a knob on this chamber pot. I wonder what for." Ashley heard another distinct sound of rushing water and then her mother's scream.

 **"AAAIIIIEEEEE!"** Ashley heard a light thud and considered checking on her parents' well being. She turned around to step inside until Freya spoke again.

"Whatever you did make the water scalding hot!" She yelled.

"Heh-heh. I'm sorry!" Fratley said.

"Oh you think it's funny do you?!" Freya asked as if being insulted. Ashley could tell by her tone that she wasn't really pissed. She heard a loud snap.

"Ack! Ow! Freya, please!" Fratley pleaded. Ashley heard two more snaps until Fratley burst out of the bathroom into his daughter's vision. Freya was quick to follow. She wielded a slightly damp towel with she had twisted into a whip and proceeded to chase her husband around the suite with it. Getting him in the rump a few times as they circled the large room. Their play stopped abruptly as they made eye contact with their daughter. All in a state of shock. The two elder rats were naked as the day they were born. Ashley put on a bemused smirk, and proceeded to jam her claws into her eye sockets. She casually tore her eyes out and then nonchalantly tossed the eyeballs over her shoulder and off the balcony onto the streets below.

 **"Sweetie. We thought you stepped out for some air! So sorry!"** Fratley said and broke Ashley from her daydream of self-mutilation. She blinked her still intact eyes. Both of her parents were grinning sheepishly as they tried to make themselves decent. Ashley held her face in her hands and stepped back out onto the balcony. When she stepped back inside she heard the "rain pipes" running. The bathroom door was shut and Fratley was sitting in a large chair reading a glossy, colorful book. Upon a closer look, the periodical had pictures of shiney, and what she assumed were fancy models of Cleyran automobiles. She caught glimpse of bikini clad nezumi showing off different cars. Only half of them were female. Ashley waited for each of her parents to bath before doing so, herself. It took her a minute to get the rain-shower pipe outputting comfortable water. After about twenty minutes, Ashley stepped out of the bathroom, fully clothed. Both of her parents were up and standing by the door.

"While you were bathing, Puck knocked and said that Adel would like us visit a sporting event. We will eat before hand." Freya said. Right after, The door was knocked on again. Freya opened it. This time it was Zidane. He seemed as giddy as a schoolgirl. Ashley was curious about what this _sport_ was. She had played plenty of games in her life. And she even remembered reading that ancient civilizations used to have huge stadiums with state sanctioned teams and official leagues for all sorts of team based games. Eventually they became a distant memory as the mist monsters started to become a thing, and cities fell one by one. While Ashley found that really interesting, there were other aspects of Cleyran society that she wanted to explore. She was hoping the she and her parents could just hit the town and see the sights. Still, she figured that this would be about as interesting as anything else in this country. The Iron Tails stepped out of their room. The rest of the group was already waiting outside. Puck was wearing the same half of his kingly outfit that he wore yesterday, albeit slightly less neat. Puck could never get his fancy outfit right without the help of royal attendants. Freya noted that he usually did a lot worse by himself, as his shirt was currently only a little off-kilter. Tess must have helped him. She thought. The king and queen of Alexandria seemed to contrast almost comically. Zidane could barely keep still, while Garnet nursed a small bottle of Cleyran wine. "It's eight-thirty in the morning!" Ashley thought. But she wisely kept her thoughts to herself. Garnet looked like she wanted to go back to bed for a few more hours. Ashley noticed that the prince was not present.

"Is Prince Darron still preparing?" Fratley asked. Garnet scoffed.

"Darron decided to have a sleepover at his little boyfriend's house. They're on their way now. I know this because a series of loud rings woke us up three hours ago. Followed by My son's voice telling a message. Coulda just showed up and let us sleep in peace." Garnet said dryly before taking another sip. Hilde stepped out of their room as Garnet spoke.

"You all have one of those too? Cid was up till three in the morning fooling around with the devices in our room. The small box with the long radio handset? He just started pressing random numbers until a voice started speaking to him." Hilda mimicked pressing several buttons and holding something to her ear. She began to play out the conversation by herself.

"Hello?" "Uh- Ahoy-Ahoy!" "Who is this?" "I am Cid Fabool! Regent of Lindblum! Who is this?" "...Oh yeah. And I'm Queen Brahne and I'm here to pop off another Eidolon!" "I say! That is nothing to joke about!" "No shit, jackass! click." She finished her act as Cid stepped out as well. Eiko was quick to follow. The normally youthful woman had bags under eyes. She rubbed her face with her fist and yawned.

"Uuaaaahhh. Ciddy kept us up _all night_ with that blasted telephone machine. I should have warned the Cleyrans to keep _amazing gadgetry_ away from him!" She said. As she spoke, a small entourage led by Adel approached. She had her right hand up against the side of her face.

"Yes, they're all here. Have both limousines waiting at the entrance in five minutes. I'm taking them to the Blitzball game. It starts at ten thirty... What? No I didn't know about the delay. I'll look into it. Keep me posted on all of Algernon's progress. I'll see you at the office this evening." Adel said to her hand. She then brought it from her face and started fiddling with the small, shiny rectangle that she was speaking to. She tapped it several times as it emitted a gentle light on her grey face.

"Ah! Eleven-thirty! not a huge problem. Ahem..." Kildea spoke to herself before looking up to the group.

"Good morning, everyone. I trust the amenities were acceptable. I hope there are no objections to the sporting event. While they may seem frivolous, I carry hope that organized sporting can be revived to bring us all closer." Adel said. Garnet rolled her eyes. She was used to this kind of spin from a lifetime of dealing with nobility and elected officials. Adel looked around.

"Is the prince not ready yet?" Adel asked.

"He wanted to catch up on old times with the Steiner boy. He never _could_ find another big spoon after the Beatrix incident." Garnet said dryly. She got a chuckle out of the president.

"Yes. Well, I hope they arrive soon. The Cleyra City Comets are playing the Zanarkand Strangers. Gonna be quite a show..." Adel said. Before anyone could respond, her device buzzed and lit up once more.

"They're waiting in the lobby. Come along, if you will." Adel said as she walked towards an elevator. The group followed her to a set of elevators. They split into a few smaller groups and took them to the ground floor. The elevators reached the lobby and everyone stepped out promptly.

"Wowee! Sure wish the original Cleyra would have had these!" Zidane said.

"Zidane, they had elevators in Lindblum since before we were born. _We've_ had an elevator in the castle for like ten years." Garnet said impatiently. John and Darron were waiting for them by the entrance and they all entered the vehicles outside. The ride to Skaven & Sons Stadium was brief, but Ashley spent the whole time looking out the window at every little thing. What seemed mundane to the nezumi going about their lives was new and amazing to her. Especially since she lacked the worldliness of her parents. They arrived at the massive stadium and Ashley's (and her father's) jaws dropped at the sight of it. While not as tall as the skyscrapers surrounding it, The massive ring of Cleyra City would still be considered a wonder of the world to any scholar worth his or her salt. Not too far away, A massive crowd was filing in, and Ashley figured they would soon join them at the main entrance.

"Shouldn't we get in line?" She asked aloud. Adel covered her mouth and chuckled.

"Ohohohoho! _Line? Darling,_ such esteemed guests of mine will do no such thing. Come! We're taking the v-i-p entrance to the v-i-p box! My very important persons!" She said with a little gusto. Adel led them to a massive, private viewing suite with large, comfortable chairs, several refreshments, and even private restrooms. Ashley leaned against the railing and got a good look at the center. There was a large pool at the center of the field. Surrounding it were four large machines. They appeared to all be facing the pool in cardinal directions.

"How is anyone supposed to see what's going on in that pool?" Cid asked. Adel smirked and looked at her device.

"What a conveniently timed question! Take a look!" Adel said smugly. Everyone directed their gaze towards the pool and saw the machines whirring to life. A crackling energy emitted from metal dishes facing the pool. After a few moments, the energy shot out towards the pool and look as if it was sort of grabbing it. The previously normal water started to rise out of the pool and looked like a large pieces of dough. The machines continued to raise and mold the water until it formed a perfect sphere elevated several meters above the pool. Ashley heard the crowd cheer as two teams of nezumi marched proudly towards the elevated ball of water. Their brightly colored uniforms clashed with their grey fur. Before anyone could speak, A loudspeaker blared out with the voices of two commentators.

"We're in for a heck of a show today, Sandy!" The male said over his microphone.

"You betcha, Benna. The legendary Cleyra City Comets are going up against the Zanarkand Strangers. This is a rivalry that's spanned all twelve years of the CBL!" A woman replied through the speakers.

"The comets have taken the big tree trophy for the past three years, but the strangers are coming in swinging with newcomer and crowd favorite, Zach Titus!" The man said.

"Titus has worked miracles in the minor league for the Munches, and now he makes his debut against the Strangers' biggest rivals! Talk about trial by fire!" The woman responded enthusiastically. The two teams made it to the edges of the pool. They looked up at the sphere and all jumped into into it in one mighty leap. Ashley looked towards her parents. Fratley seemed bemused, but Freya had a more stern expression.

"The most heralded and highly kept secrets of our people, relegated to mere entertainment." Freya said dourly. Adel smirked.

"Yes. So secret that there was a book all about dragon knights in Dagguereo." Adel said sarcastically. Freya glowered, but she couldn't find a response as the crowds cheers grew louder. The game was beginning. Everyone took their seats as they watched a team of blue-clothed nezumi take on a team or green-clothed rats. The goal seemed to be to get a ball through the other team's net. The net wasn't anything physical, but overlaid on each side of the sphere by powerful lights. Any time a ball leaves the sphere, the players reset to their starting positions and another ball is shot from a cannon right into the center. Right into the arms of a referee, who took it from there. Ashley watched the game with excitement. But towards the halfway point of the game. She heard John and Darron whispering to each other. They were both sitting behind her.

"Hey. Dar. You wanna ditch this and go explore the city? I'll find us some cool stuff." John said. Darron grinned sheepishly.

"I can't just waltz out in the middle of this. You're gonna get me in trouble." Darron said. Garnet scoffed.

"Oh, do what you want, you pansy! _Oh I can't go out with you! Mumsy will be cross with me!"_ She said, annoyed. Darron smiled.

"Well in that case. Let's go!" He said. John and Darron got up from their seats and walked around towards the exit. Ashley realized that she wanted to join them. The game was interesting enough, but she really wanted to see more of the city! Still, she didn't want to seem rude or ungrateful. So she decided not to say anything. Ashley tried to ease her restlessness. As he walked by, John noticed Ashley's rapidly shifting leg. His eyes rose to her face and he grinned.

"Ashley, you got the jimmy legs? Why you got the jimmy legs, Ashley?" He asked her in a blunt, teasing manner. Ashley was taken off guard by the human.

"Uh-" She stuttered. John pressed onward.

"You need to go to the bathroom? Maybe, uh- for a suspiciously similar amount of time that the two of us are gone?" John said. He leaned toward her and lightly jabbed her with his elbow. Making it very obvious that he wanted her to join them. Ashley hesitated. She looked towards her parents. Freya looked like she had her reservations. Fratley was stuffing his face with popcorn and entranced with the game.

"I'm not so sure I like this idea. This city is a large strange place. I'd feel better if my daughter stayed with me. Ashley blushed and her brow furrowed.

"M-mother! I'm not a child! I can handle myself just fine!" Ashley protested embarrassedly.

"I don't doubt that, my dear, but I'd be more comfortable if the three of us stuck together." Freya said honestly. John put his hands on his hips.

"Lady Iron Tail. What have _I_ ever done to sully my trustworthiness?" John asked her as he beamed innocently. Freya glowered at him, but didn't say anything. Ashley leaned towards her mother.

"Mother. I wish to join them, but if you have reservations, I'll stay here." She whispered. Fratley swallowed a mouthful of popcorn. His eyes still fixed on the game.

"Go have fun, sweetie." Fratley said.

"Fratley..." Freya said, but hesitated.

"What? I trust the three of them to keep each other out of trouble." He said casually.

"...Very well. I want you to be careful." Freya conceded. She admitted to herself that even she would rather be sightseeing than watching a ball game, impressive as it was. Ashley excitedly jumped from her seat. Freya smirked, but her face still showed some worry.

"Tell us all about what you see, Honey!" Fratley said.

"I will, Daddy!" She replied. The three youngsters took their leave. Puck watched them go and immediately turned to look at Tess. Tess' face showed him that she was thinking exactly what he was thinking.

"Um... I have to go to the bathroom!" Puck blurted out.

"Me too!" Tess said a split second later. It was obvious what they intended as they both scurried away.

"We should stop this." Freya said to Fratley.

"They'll be fine. It's just Puck doing his thing." Fratley said.

"That's what I'm afraid of. I have more faith in our daughter and the human boys than I do our king to not cause an incident." Freya said.

" **Yeaaaaahhh!** " Fratley got up and cheered. The strangers just scored a goal. Freya put her face in her palm and sighed, but she decided to let Puck be. It didn't take too long for Zidane to show signs of restlessness. Adel, who was sitting behind him, took note and acted quickly. She hopped over Puck's now empty seat right into it. Now next to Zidane, Adel grabbed his arm and rubbed her head against his shoulder.

"King _Zidaaaane!_ Don't tell me _you're_ thinking of leaving _tooooo!_ I was so excited to show off my super cool _stadium!"_ Adel hammed up her disappointment and continued to cozy up to the king of Alexandria. Zidane blushed and smiled nervously. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. On the next seat over, Garnet seethed silently. Gritting her teeth and holding her flask so firmly that it started making noises. Adel knocked it off. She smirked, getting just the response that she wanted out of both of them. Garnet got up and took the empty seat next to Adel. Adel grinned, thinking maybe she went too far with teasing her man. Adel eyed her and waited for Garnet to speak. Garnet's face was serious and stern. Adel didn't think the queen would take her little stunt seriously. But to her surprise, Garnet had something else on her mind.

"You'll have to forgive me for being so frank. But I think we've refrained from asking the million-gil question long enough. How did you accomplish all of this?" Garnet asked bluntly. She held her arm out towards the center of the stadium, but it was clear that she meant this reborn Cleyra as a whole. Adel looked at her with a bit of confusion.

"I figured you of all people would know the answer to that. After all. It was your generosity that made this happen. Generosity that will not be forgotten." Adel said. Garnet's eyes narrowed. More diplomatic bullshit.

"Then start with elaboration. I handed over Terran artifacts. Terran documents. Terran science. I've been to Terra. This is **not** Terran science." Garnet said. Adel smirked and met her gaze.

"Very astute! While the Terrans had their share of more practical devices, that was long, long ago. And only simple historical documents exist chronically Terra as a younger planet. A planet in it's prime. Still, You are aware of Garlands process in selecting a world to prey upon, Yes? Seeking a suitable planet in it's infancy to assimilate. Failing that, His eyes fell upon the youngest world he could find. Our own." Adel explained.

"Yes. Yes. I've heard all of this from the horse's mouth." Garnet said.

"My point being: Garland failed to find the ideal world where he could harmlessly extend his own world's lifespan. But Gaia was not the only candidate. Probes, spies even, were sent to other worlds. Extensive, exhaustive examination was conducted on world after world. All too advanced or too powerful or too damaged. But Garland learned everything he could about each and every one of them. All until ripe, defenceless Gaia entered his crosshairs. You see, You didn't hand me one world's secrets all those years ago. You gave Cleyra over a dozen!" Adel said with gusto. Garnet took a moment to process the information she was given.

"That answers some questions. And I still don't regret my decision after all that my mother and her dog had done. You've yet to give me a reason to. However, That only explains where this new Cleyra gained such wonders from. How where your people able to master such advanced fields in such a short time? Let alone _build_ all of this. **Let alone increase your devastated population by several orders of magnitude.** Again, my apologies for being so blunt, but none of this ads up _at all!"_ Garnet said, eying the president of Cleyra intensely. Adel smirked, unphased by Garnet's stare.

"I'll be honest with you. It wasn't easy. We certainly had to... think outside the box. But you'll have to forgive me if I don't divulge all of my nation's methods. Not yet anyway. The only thing that I'll say is that certain actions taken gave way to other opportunities. And my species was overdue for some good fortune, if you ask me." Adel said. Garnet's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing.

"Come now, your highness. As a leader yourself, you have to understand if I refrain from kissing and telling immediately." Adel continued.

"Very well. Of course _you_ have to understand my curiosity. These questions will come fast and loose in the coming months. I trust you're prepared." Garnet said cooly. Adel's confident smirk widened into an amused grin.

"But of course. Regardless of how and why, Cleyra has rebounded farther than anyone could have ever dreamed. And it was all thanks to your generosity and my people's ingenuity. The nation of Cleyra has built upon the foundations of a dozen cultures. We have appropriated countless advancements perfectly!" Adel said triumphantly. Right as she finished talking. A loud horn blared and the crowd roared in cheer. Several cannons appeared from compartments around the sphere and began bombarding it with blitzballs. Chaos erupted among the players as they scrambled to get ahold a ball and score as many points as the can. other's rushed to their own team's goal's defense. Some struggled not to panic as the sphere was bombarded from every direction.

"Multiball! **Multiball!** Blern! Bleeeern! **Bleeeeeeeern!"** The male commentator shouted excitedly. Both teams scored several times in a succession of about a minute. Fratley found himself in hot water after he jumped up to cheer and accidentally showered The leaders of three nations and his wife with a hail of popcorn. Freya sighed and just hoped that nothing bad would happen to her daughter.

Ashley screamed in agony. Darron was next to her in a similar amount of pain. John looked at them with concern.

"Just relax. You'll all be alright." He said.

" **Gaaaahhhh!** " Ashley screamed in pain, clutching her head. She then tried to take another sip of her mega-slurp iced drink. Darron did the same thing and John yelled out.

" **No! You have to wait!** " John tried to warn them.

"But it's _so delicious!"_ Ashley said. Darron was already drinking more.

John led the two out-of-towners through the streets of Cleyra. Darron and Ashley's heads turned every which way, still not used to the alien city. They almost bumped into him when he stopped at a flight of stairs leading underground.

"This place is kinda far, so let's take the subway." John said casually.

"Is that like a gargant roo?" Darron asked.

"Sort of. Except instead of giant bugs, it's trains underground." John replied. Ashley's eyes lit up and she excitedly got brought her face closer to John's.

" **Really? Trains underground? That's rad!** " Ashley said excitedly. She rushed down the stairs. Nearly bowling over a family as she did. John and Darron leisurely walked down to see her staring intently at the tracks, the maps, the advertisements, the people. Everything really.

"Several nezumi were waiting for their train. Darron took a look at the guide on the wall. Several color coded cars intertwined with various parts of the city. All labeled with times and schedules.

"This _seems_ clear enough, but I'd probably super lost if I had to do this by myself." Darron said, overwhelmed.

"Been there, done that, brother. Believe me!" John said as he slapped Darron's back. Ashley joined them in looking at the complex chart. Her face as perplexed as Darron's.

"I can't make head or tail of it." She said honestly.

"It's clear as day after a couple trips. Sometimes I like to ask someone, just to make sure." John said. He looked around the subway terminal at all the bustling faces until his eyes rested on a set of trash cans by the wall.

"Ah!" He said. John walked over towards the cans and a small rat of the four legged variety. It was eating half of a glazed donut.

"Excuse me sir? Sir? Do you know which train to take to- Sir? Sir! Aw- Mister! Ma'am? Wait! Aw..." John held a straight face as he tried to solicit directions from the little animal. Until he got too close and the rodent scurried away with it's prize in it's mouth. John's shoulders slumped as he feigned dejection.

"Man, I'm sorry if I sound racist, but those tiny nudist Cleyrans are so rude. They never seem to give anyone the time of day!" He said, cracking a grin. He got a chuckle out of both of his companions. Ashley punched him in the arm playfully. Comparing sentient nezumi to common rats was a huge faux pas. But she could take an _occasional_ joke, especially coming from a man who was infamous for being _too friendly_ with her people. A train arrived and John immediately pipped up.

"Oh! That's our train! John led the others to space with a bar blocking the way. He waved a card over a small light three times and ushered the them both in. Ashley struggled to contain her excitement as they rode the machine through a long winding tunnel underneath Cleyra City.

Puck and Tess walked down a bustling street. Skyscrapers looming above. Stores and businesses. Vehicles zooming by when they could. Lurching, stopping, and swearing when they couldn't. There were small stands selling snacks and other things. The two nezumi took their time strolling every which way. After about an hour, Puck's stomach started to growl. Tess giggled.

"Maybe we shoulda grabbed some snacks before we left." Tess said. The king of Burmecia had plenty of gil on him. But the two were at a loss for where to get something to eat. The assorted stands smelled nice enough, but Puck thought it would be nicer to sit down inside of a building. His old self would be so disappointed in him, he thought.

"Maybe we should ask someone." Puck said. They both looked around, until they began to turn around in unison. To see the Cleyran maiden from the night before standing right behind them, inches away. She had a wide, toothy grin on her face as her eyes shifted between the king and his girlfriend. Puck recognized her as Belle, the one who led the youngsters off to that strange glowing game. The two older nezumi lurched forward a bit in shock.

"Belle, was it? What a coincidence running into you here." Puck said, dryly.

"Yeah! It's almost like Kildea ordered me to tail you both from a distance and keep you out of trouble." Belle said sarcastically. Casually confirming Puck's implication.

"A distance of two centimeters?" Puck asked. Belle shrugged.

"I got bored... I'll show ya around. I'm sick of that Steiner freelancer getting all the fun!" Belle said loudly. Tess lit up at this.

"Oh wow! A tour of Cleyra City by a Cleyran maiden! That sounds amazing." She said. Belle looked at her and chuckled.

"Heh-heh! _Maiden."_ She laughed, pretending to wipe a tear from her eye. Puck sighed.

"Just wait until the Palace hands and my advisors hear I was wandering Cleyra with **two** ladies." He said.

"Let's not worry about that until I decide which one of you I like better! Heh-heh!" Adel said jovially as she slapped the king of Burmecia on the back. Puck and Tess both blushed at this. Belle grasped her chin.

"Hmmm. Belle Cluny, queen of Burmecia. Conquerer of the Mist Continent. Belle the conqueror. Belle the **destroyer!"** As Belle said that aloud, she put her hands on her hips and imagined herself in a more barbaric and tattered version of her dancer outfit. She imagined herself sitting on a stone throne adorned in skulls. Around her legs were the rulers of the continent. Puck, Garnet, Zidane, Cid, Hilda, even Adel. All dressed in skimpy slave outfits. Belle stood there and held that fantasy for three seconds before waving her hand.

"Ehhh. Too much work." Belle said dismissively. Belle grabbed Puck and Tess by the shoulders and lead them down the street.

John took his two companions to a large windowless building. Ashley and Darron both lifted an eyebrow at what looked like a simple warehouse, until they drew closer to the entrance, and could hear the constant sound of pops coming from inside. Ashley and Darron both recognized the sound even muffled from outside. These were firearms. Firearms were familiar enough, especially to Burmecians. Gunsmithing was an old Burmecian tradition that fell out of vogue when Puck's grandfather took the throne. Adding to the misfortune that fell upon her people, guns were nearly extinct when Alexandria attacked. The newly crowned King Puck saw to it that any reservations on the art was quickly forgotten, and the handful of remaining experts in the craft became celebrities overnight. Masterfully crafted Burmecian pistols, muskets, and soon even rifles became worth twenty times their weight in gold. Slowly these weapons and those skilled in them entered Burmecian society, and the corps of shootists gained status that rivaled even that of the dragon knight. Ashley had only seen a firearm up close a few times in her life. Darron, however was much more familiar with them.

"Is there a demonstration going on in there?" Darron asked.

"Not right now. I thought we could spend some time hitting targets for a little while. My girlfriend works here, so I come here for free all the time." John said, grinning.

Darron smirked. He was well aware of his friend's odd taste in women, but he was happy for him regardless. Ashley was ecstatic over the idea of actually holding a firearm. Let alone shooting it. John led them inside. Darron eyed the counters, but he could only see men.

"Looks like your girl isn't here today." He said. John shook his head.

"Nah, I texted her at the stadium. She's probably behind the counter." John said. Darron was confused at this, the counters seemed pretty low, was she crouching?

"Hey, Lily. You around?" John called out in a slightly loud voice.

"Just a sec, babe!" They heard a voice say. Darron and Ashley both thought the voice was a little odd. Almost like a- Their thoughts were broken when a bright red ball appeared from behind the counter. The ball continued to rise, followed by the cream colored head of a moogle. The moogle bobbed slightly as she used her tiny wings to levitate over the counter. Darron's lips pursed and his cheeks puffed out, Ashley immediately covered her mouth with her hands. They were both trying to suppress their shock, as well as their laughter. Ashley had heard that the Alexandrian was into nezumi, and Darron knew it. That alone was very rare, but not unheard of. But the sight of a tiny moogle zipping over a counter, arms outstretched and wrapping around the neck of a human man and placing a big kiss on his lips. That was something only heard of in juvenile jokes. Darron smirked and shook his head.

"Why am I surprised at this point?" He said humorously.

"Why _are_ you surprised at this point?" John shot back playfully. Ashley was still hiding behind her hands. Blushing at the display of public affection that the two members of very different species just showed. She wasn't disgusted. She'd met people with uncommon tastes in partners before and had no problem with them. But this man-moogle relationship was new. New and absurd.

"Are these friends of yours? Kupo." The moogle asked, still hanging from John's neck.

"Yeah! This is Darron Alexandros and Ashley Iron Tail. Old friends from the other side of the sandstorm. His parents and her mother used to roll with my old man back in the day. Guys, this is my lovely girlfriend, Lily Mooléte!" John said. They exchanged greetings and John explained that he wanted to teach the two foreigners how to shoot a rifle. The moogle's eyes lit up. She immediately zipped back behind the counter and started revealing all sorts of fancy and complicated looking weaponry. Somehow the tiny moogle produced two heavy looking weapons that looked sort of like long bundles of pipes.

"We could start out with the ratling gun and the mus maxim gun, kupo! Or maybe the **desert** **phoenix** **!** That'll make you feel like a badass, kupo!" The moogle placed the two gigantic weapons on the counter and then pulled out two massive pistols. Handguns that looked too big for a human or a nezumi, and absolutely comical in the tiny arms of an overly enthusiastic moogle.

"Ooh! How about a flamethrower! Nothing ends a pair of bungling idiots like a guy with a flamethrower! Kupo!" The moogle continued jubilantly.

"And rocket launchers! Kupo!" Lily burst out. Ashley and Darron were quickly becoming overwhelmed. John chuckled.

"Eheheh. I was thinking starting out with something a bit more... beginner friendly. Could you grab us a pair of CL-18's, please?" John said. Lily deflated a little at that, but she withdrew two simple, but reliable looking rifles, as well as several loaded magazines. John approached the counter. While he was getting the weapons, Darron leaned close to Ashley.

"How does it _fit_?" Darron whispered to her. Ashley blushed and covered her face, giggling. John returned with his girlfriend and the weapons. The four of them walked to a pair of empty spots at the the firing range. In a few minutes the prince and the soldier were set up in front of a set of targets. Darron had mild experience with rifles, but Ashley had never fired one. So John and Lily guided her through several safety rules, and then the basics of marksmanship. It didn't take long for Ashley to get the hang of it, and pretty soon she was surpassing Darron's scores. The four spent a few hours at the range. Ashley was shocked when she realized that it was almost four o'clock when they were finished.

"Oh no! My mother will be furious with me!" She said.

"She's well aware of your whereabouts, Ashley. You've nothing to worry about." Ashley turned her head towards the entrance, It was President Kildea who called out to her.

"I must confess that I had a hand in Jonathan dragging you here. Did you enjoy handling the weapon?" Adel asked. Ashley nodded.

"Oh, yes ma'am! It was unlike anything I've even experienced in Burmecia!" Ashley said enthusiastically. Adel smirked.

"Ashley, please. You hold no allegiance to me. I want you to be completely honest with me. How did firing that rifle really make you feel?" Adel prodded. Ashley hesitated, but spoke.

"Powerful. Like a real badass." Ashley said, she then drew her face a bit closer to Adel's, and Adel did the same.

"Between you and me... If I was a dude, You'd be able to kill Alexander with my erection!" Ashley said. Adel broke out in raucous laughter.

"Ahahahahahaha! Well. I was counting on you taking a liking to these. I plan on... updating Burmecia's defences. No longer will your nation be left in the hands of a small groups of elites. I would put a rifle in the arms of every Burmecian who has sworn to protect that great land. But I need to do it with finesse. I need to start with a small group. But not reclusive little clubs. A fresh band of young Burmecian soldiers. Led by someone whose name carries weight." Adel said. Ashley caught on to what she was saying and was floored.

"What exactly do you mean?" Ashley asked. Adel took her by the shoulders and looked her square in the eyes.

"I want _you_ to helm a company of riflemen. The first disc of the new backbone of the Burmecian army!" Adel said frankly and seriously.

"I- I don't know if I could accept, ma'am. Even if I did, I haven't the authority to." Ashley said honestly. Adel grinned.

"I've already ironed out the details with Puck. He is fully behind it. But the will of the Burmecian people could make or break this. You play a monumental role, and as brief as it is, your record is stellar. I can think of no better candidate. Do you accept my offer?" Adel never broke eye contact with the young woman. Her voice oozed power and authority.

"...Yes!" Ashley hesitated for only a couple of seconds before she was won over. Adel's grin grew wider. White teeth showing between dark red lipstick.

"Wonderful! I knew I could count on you to make the right decision! I'm looking forward to great things from you, **Lieutenant** Iron Tail!" Adel said, laying on all her political showmanship. Adel had the young Burmecian woman wrapped around her finger. Adel knew she was being a little manipulative. But she believed her cause was just. She was fostering a strong Burmecia, which in turn heralded a strong nezumi race. Ashley quickly showed a minor concern though.

"I'd like to know what my parents have to say." Ashley said.

"They've yet to be informed. Let us break the news to them together. Your mother and father have also been learning a new skill since the ball game ended. Although, I'm told Sir Fratley has taken to it a bit quicker than Lady Freya has." Adel responded. Adel led her to the exit. They passed Puck and the Cleyran maiden from the other night watching Tess fire a belt-fed chaingun from the hip without stop. She was obliterating dozens of paper targets.

"Heeeell yeaaaah! I have the **power of God!** " Tess yelled out in excitement.

Fratley Iron Tail was having the time of his life. He had spent the past few hours behind the wheel of a shiny Cleyran _car_ and was given the rundown on safety, laws, technique, and handling. He breezed through all the beginner courses, and now was taking a spin around the nearby streets with a friendly female instructor sitting in the passenger seat and his wife in the back seat. Seatbelt firmly latched. Freya looked a little uncomfortable.

"Sir Fratley. I have to say. I've never had a student catch on so quickly. I was told that foreigners would have trouble coping with our technology!" The instructor said cheerfully.

"Thanks! I don't know why, but these transport things really click with me!" Fratley said.

"That's not surprising. You wanted to join the cavalry before you became a dragoon." Freya said wistfully.

"Did you say something, sweetie?" Fratley said as he looked back to her.

"Red light!" The instructor said. Their heads jerked forward a bit as the car came to an abrupt stop.

"Sorry." Fratley said sheepishly.

Zidane was getting antsy. He ended up getting separated from his wife in the busy sidewalk outside of the stadium. They had decided to take a walk for a bit before reconvening at Adel's tower. He wasn't worried about her, but he still didn't want to be late. Besides, he was getting homesick. The king of Alexandria saw several nezumi waiting on the side of the road. every thirty seconds or so, a yellow car would stop and one or more rats would step inside. It would be clear to Zidane what they were, even if it didn't clearly say "taxi" on the top of the vehicle. Zidane waited patiently for a few minutes until one of them stopped right in front of him. Zidane opened the door to the backseat and got in. A friendly looking nezumi man sat in the driver's seat.

"Evening. You look like an out-of-towner. You come to see the Comets game? That was a real doozie!" The cabbie said.

"Oh! Uh, yeah that was great!" Zidane said.

"Yeah, the Strangers really pulled showstopper with that multiball today. But I think the Comets will surprise them in the playoffs this year! So where you heading?" The driver asked.

"Take me to the Oracle Tower please!" Zidane said. The driver nodded.

"Sure thing, buddy. Tourists love that place." The driver said and begin to head in the tower's location. As he did, he turned a dial on his dashboard, and a voice came from the speakers of his car.

"You're listening to WCCR: The Grind! The only station in Cleyra City that brings you Squash!..." "Something takes a part of meee!" "Minerva Martian!..." "And I was a hand grenade that. Never stopped exploding!" "Rizzo Risbourne!..." "Your mama told me that you're not supposed to talk to strangers!" "And Perturbed!" "That I'm stricken and can't let you gooo!" The voice coming from the radio listed Cleyran troupes and played brief clips of music after each name. Another voice began to speak.

"Alright! This is eighty-eight point nine WCCR: The Grind! I'm Omar, and it's six-thirty in the evening. It is a clear, gorgeous night out! Leave your coats at home, folks. The sand storm is down! Open travel is permitted across the Mist Continent for the first time in twenty years. To mark this momentous occasion, we have a special treat for you all. Heres... Human... Music." The man in the radio said, tripping over himself at the end. They likely didn't know the name of the song. Zidane recognized it. It was the marching anthem that the band played when he got stranded in the Evil Forest all those years ago. A song created long ago to celebrate a war victory won by an old count. Count Rufus or something. The driver started to bob his head to the music.

"Huh! _Human music!_ I like it!" The cab driver said. More to himself than anything.

Zidane arrived at the tower not long after. To his relief. His wife and son were waiting with the rest of the group. He paid the cabbie and thanked him.

"Hey, Dad. We were getting worried. You should have taken the bus with us. Mom got in a staring contest with some guy's shirt... The shirt won." Darron said, chuckling.

"Come along Zidane. Adel wants us to meet her in her office before we all take our leave." Garnet said. They all entered the massive building. Eventually the group split, and Garnet, Zidane, Cid, Hilda, Cid's guards, Puck, and his girlfriend took another elevator up to the top of the building. They were led to a set of massive doors and entered with the doors closing behind them. Garnet, Cid, and Puck stepped forward towards a set of fancy chairs by a large mahogany desk. The office was massive and ornate. The inner walls were a white marble with decorative columns and engravings. The outer walls were entirely windows, and gave a breathtaking view of Cleyra City in the evening sun. They stopped when they noticed they significant others planted firmly in place in front of the doors. Zidane, Hilda, and Tess looked distressed, like they couldn't move.

"W-what's going on?" Zidane said.

"I can't move. Pucky, help!" Tess said.

"It- It's a hex!" Hilda cried out. Their three lovers stepped forwards. They each looked alarmed. Cid's guards drew their swords in alert. Before they could do anything further, a small orb of mystical energy appeared and stopped hovering to the left of the three frozen nobles. The ball of light slowly changed colors. Zidane instantly recognized it. Brahne's black mages used them to teleport in and out of Cleyra during their assault. Zidane and his group used it to get onto the Red Rose before the settlement met it's demise.

"Someone's coming." Zidane said. Footsteps grew louder. A confident stride that swiftly made it's way to the great office doors.

 **"Dojyaaaaaaan!"** Adel announced proudly as she burst through the doors of her own office. Arms held out in an exaggerated shrug. The doors opened inward and knocked the three of them into the floating ball. As soon as the genome, human, and nezumi each touched the orb, they disappeared into it. And The orb phased through the floor. Adel smirked as the angry glare of a king, queen, and regent bore down on her. Both of the Lindan soldiers had their weapons fixed towards the president of Cleyra, who was continuing to saunter towards them.

"What have you done with our spouses?!" Cid shouted. Adel pulled her small screened device and tapped it a few times. A large panel slid from the ceiling against the wall. It showed a very confused Zidane, Hilda, and Tess sitting in a large pool of small, colorful balls. Around them were nezumi children. All scrambling around and having fun.

"I should have clarified that I wanted the _rulers_ of the Mist Continent to convene at my office. So I relocated the _consorts_ to the building's day care facilities. As you can see, your loved ones are completely unharmed. Well... Except for Hilda. She's about to suffer a hell of a migraine!" Adel explained. Cid clenched his teeth. But he looked at the screen and could see Hilda's mouth moving. She was casting an incantation. Cid was on the receiving end of Hilda's wrath more than once. He would almost pity Adel, but the president made it clear that she expected the assault. True to her word, as Hilda finished speaking, parks of energy seemed to briefly wrap around Adel's body. And Hilda reacted like she was struck in the face. Cid was worried for a moment, but Zidane and Tess helped his wife up, and it was clear that she was for the most part aware and unharmed.

"Explain yourself!" Cid demanded angrily. Adel ran a hand through her hair.

"I just did. I'll be sure to congratulate the arcanology boys for their successful defenses." Adel said cooly. She shrugged. She seemed completely nonplussed at gaining the ire of her peers. Garnet took a seat.

"Well, you've accomplished your goal with flair. Now what did you wish to discuss with us?" Garnet asked. Hands outstretched a bit. Puck and Cid tentatively took seats beside her. Cid sent of the his guards to link up with his wife. Adel sighed. She pulled her large leather chair out and sat down, reclining with one leg resting over the other. She produced a cigarette, lit it, and took a long drag. Garnet could tell by her face that she was no longer putting on a show, but was genuinely hesitant.

"My cabinet won't let me hear the end of this, but I feel I must be level with you. One of the heated topics among my inner circle had always been the good general of Alexandria." Adel said. Garnet looked at her inquisitively.

"Beatrix? General Beatrix is _dead."_ She said. Adel nodded.

"Quite. Your boy caused quite the stir when he crossed the sandstorm bearing the news. We couldn't believe it until be were able to extensively confirm it. My point being: These past few days were likely to have played out very differently were she still among us. Public opinion of Cleyra was strongly urging it's leadership to seek justice. Extradition, trial, ... Execution. And I'll say that we likely wouldn't take the inevitable "no" for an answer... Queen Brahne was more successful in Destroying the Nation of Cleyra than any of you might have realized. Our most defining value was the first thing to be cast aside. The general who caused our people such misery? We would have demanded her head. **There. Would. Have. Been. War!"** Adel said. Making sure to punctuate the end of her monologue. Puck eyed her in disbelief. Even after all he had seen in the past two days. It was still nearly impossible to conceive. _Cleyra._ Eager to _start_ a _war!_

"Why are you telling us this? You cast your people in a bad light over a _what if._ Beatrix is gone. She was the last of those who could be truly held responsible for the atrocities committed on your people." Cid said.

"Indeed. But I feel I must be a frank and honest with you all. Even detrimentally so. You could take this as hot air from some sword-rattling thug, but If it came to another war in the Mist Continent... None of you would stand a chance. Not even if you all coalesced against my country. Not even with all the little hand-me-downs I'm giving to Burmecia. The gap in what our civilizations are capable of is far too great. Now, I tell you from the depth of my heart. Cleyra has no desire for conquest or bloodshed. But I'm counting on you all to **not** believe me. I have no doubt that the wonders of my nation will spread across the continent in no time. And I know that we will soon officially convene on the international rules of war. But I wanted us all to be on the same page. A leader who refuses to acknowledge the most unsavory possibilities is a failure to his or her people." Adel finished her speech and eyed her three guests. There was an air of discomfort in the large room. No one said anything. Adel rested her elbow on her desk, and her cheek on her fist.

"Well. I think our business is concluded. I thank you for your time and I look forward to our next meeting!" Adel said cheerfully. The three monarchs looked at each other. Garnet got up and the men in the room followed. Puck bowed and thanked Adel for her hospitality. They left through the large office doors and stepped into the elevator that they arrived in. When the elevator door closed, Cid broke the silence.

"That woman's off her rocker!" Cid said.

"I found the frankness refreshing in a leader." Garnet said cooly. Cid looked at her incredulously.

"I don't see how you can shrug this off." He said.

"After a couple of decades of isolation, she had some things to get off her chest. They've built up their defences. That is all." Garnet said as she took a sip from her flask.

"It's not just that. Think about their salutes. They shield their hearts with their right hands, and hand their off hands behind their back. Protecting the heart and hiding something behind the back! Their _salute_ is to be on guard! That's like the _opposite_ of a salute! Their show of respect is to say that one is capable of being a threat to them." Puck said. Garnet and Cid both noted how much sense Puck's theory made. The three made a stop at the childcare facilities. Hilda was sitting on a chair, looking rather annoyed. Cid sat down with her while Garnet and Cid approached the large ball pit. Zidane and Tess seemed to be playing hide and go seek.

"Zidane. It's time to take our leave." Garnet said.

"Let's go home, sweetie." Puck said.

"Awwwwww!" They both said. Disappointed at having to end their fun.

The Lindans departed on their airship, and Puck and Tess joined the Alexandrians on a helicopter back to Burmecia. As they buckled into the seats, Zidane look around.

"Where are the Iron Tails?" Zidane asked, a little concerned.

"President Kildea gave them a present today." Darron said.

Freya was holding her hat on her head with both hands. She gritted her teeth and breathed through them. Obviously nervous. She tried calling out to her husband but the wind in her face made it a fool's gesture. Freya was in the back seat of a flashy Cleyran car. She had three seatbelts somehow wrapped around her as she pressed herself towards the back of the seat. The car had a roof, but the second Fratley found out that it could be automatically lowered, it stayed that way. Ashley was in the front passenger's seat. She was enjoying the long ride to Burmecia. The wind blew her hair back, and she was wearing a big smile as she took in the scenery of the vast desert surrounding the Cleyran highway. Fratley was behind the wheel. He looked like he had been driving all his life as he barreled down the road. Fratley never had an interest in Airships, but these wheeled ground vehicles just _clicked_ with him.

" **Slow dooooown!** " Freya yelled.

" **I'm having fun too, honey!** " Fratley yelled back.

Queen Garnet was alone in her castle. She, of course, had to deal with the interrogations from Steiner, Charlotte, several nobles and advisors. And it wasn't until late at night that she could get rid of them. Darron was asleep in his room and Garnet had sent Zidane on some banal errand. Garnet looked around. Confident that she was alone in her chamber, she placed her hand on a shield on the wall. A pulse of magic caused the shield to glow. A part of the wall receded, revealing a secret door, with a stairwell going down. The queen grabbed a lantern.

"It doesn't matter. None of this matters." Garnet said to herself as she began to walk down the stairs. The door closed behind her.


	6. Rain Dogs

Chapter VI: Rain Dogs

It was a beautiful morning in Burmecia. The sun was actually able to peer through the clouds and the cool air was just a little moist. John was making his way to the same entrance to the city that he met up with Misty and the others the day before. He, or rather Darron was supposed to stay in Burmecia for a few more days to help keep an eye on various workers and surveyors. He had a feeling someone would come for him sooner or later, but he didn't plan on returning. John supposed he would have to cross that bridge when he came to it, so he put on a confident face and strode to the same gate that he arrived at yesterday.

He walked through the gate and saw a group of Burmecian soldiers preparing to escort the surveyors further into the wilderness. He looked around, wondering if he would see the two girls with the strange weapons. Not too far behind him, the Gunn sisters approached the same gate. Lucy's face was full of mirth, but Misty's brow was furrowed with annoyance.

"Oh woe is me! Where did I go wrong? My own baby sister! A _dapper rat!"_ Lucy said all too loudly. She had been carrying on in mock distress ever since yesterday. They were approaching earshot of several nezumi, and Misty knew her sister would hate for any random stranger to hear such things. Misty had a faint hope that her sister got it all out of her system. But she knew it was unlikely.

 **"Dapper for the son of General Beatmmphx!"** Lucy said even louder until Misty grabbed her sisters muzzle and held it shut.

"Shut it already!" Misty said, blushing profusely. The two sisters made their way through the gate and found John waiting patiently. He smiled and brought his pinched thumb and index finger to his forehead. Tipping an imaginary hat.

"Good morning, Lucy! Good morning... _Misty!_ Heehee." John said chuckling. Misty's mood didn't improve after that one, and her brow furrowed further. A surveyor approached.

"Hello! We're ready to go when you are!" The female Burmecian said cheerfully.

"Aren't any soldiers coming with us?" John asked. Misty shook her head.

"No. There's a training event today, so most soldiers are busy with that. Anyone else is keeping watch over the city." Misty said. John gave a big grin and punched the palm of his hand.

"More fun for us, huh?" John said.

"Hey, we're gonna take a carriage to where we left off yesterday. No point in walking the whole way over and over again." Lucy said as she pointed to a carriage a bit further down the road. The surveyors were already stepping into it. The trio followed suit and boarded the carriage. They sat down and began to relax during the short ride. As they sat, John began to eye the weapons on Lucy's hip and under Misty's arm.

"Tell me about those weapons of yours. I've never seen anything like them." John said. The sisters looked at each other a little uneasily, but Misty spoke up.

"These? These are weapons that members of my family, as well as a select few others crafted a long time ago. But the old Burmecian nobility saw them as a threat instead of a boon, and the craft fell into disuse." Misty said. Hoping that that would sate the human.

"But how do they work? Are they magic?" John asked.

"No. Nothing like that. They're basically tiny cannons. Anything more specific than that... Well. Those are Gunn family secrets." Lucy said.

"Then I'll just have to get in good with the Gunn family to learn more, now won't I?" John said. He smiled confidently and earnestly. Lucy couldn't help but give her sister a coy smirk. It earned her an elbow to the arm.

"Can you at least tell me what they're called?" John asked.

"Well, these smaller handheld ones are called pistols. But overall, most people just call them guns." Misty said. She brandished her own weapon and held it sideways to give John a better look. It was a small silver colored pipe attached to a curved handle. Her index finger stuck out and she intentionally kept it away from the trigger. a thick cylinder at the back of the device seemed to house the things that actually shot out of the weapons. John eyed the weapon curiously.

" _Guns,_ huh? So your family invented these? That why they're the same as your last name?" John asked.

"Not really. People used to call cannons mounted on ships guns. You know... Back when seafaring was a thing. Our ancestors were sailors. Many were famous cannon makers and cannoneers. Once the seas grew too dangerous to navigate, Many Burmecian engineers began work on smaller, portable cannons... Hand cannons. Eventually evolving into more sophisticated weaponry." Lucy said.

"So there were really none of these when my... when the attacks happened? I don't think I've ever heard anyone mention them." John said. Lowering his head a bit. The Gunn sisters nodded a little grimly.

"Very few were left. Even less were in usable condition." Misty said.

The carriage came to a stop not too long after and they all stepped out in the general vicinity of where they left off yesterday. Where they were attacked by wolves. The three fighters stepped out before the surveyors and scanned the area. All clear. So they began their trek west. Taking a slow path on foot eventually towards Alexandria, where the roads would lead and split off to paths towards Treno, Dali, and Lindblum. At first it was a short walk through more plains. There were no unpleasant surprises, and eventually they headed straight into a heavily wooded area. It was a gorgeous place. Full of green with the sound of birds chirping. There was still a heavy morning dew on the grass and flowers surrounding them. The surveyors continued to diligently mark the best possible path for the road's foundations, and things went smoothly until they suddenly stopped. The trio placed their hands on their weapons expecting a fight. Instead they found a great hole in the ground. upon further inspection, it appeared to be an entrance, complete with an aging set of stairs leading down into it. It was clear by the look of the surveyors' faces that this threw a monkey wrench into things. Lucy walked over to them, and after a couple of minutes, she returned.

"They say the shaft needs to be inspected." Lucy said.

"Come again?" John snickered. Misty rolled her eyes and Lucy continued.

"The surveyors can do it, but first someone needs to go down there and make sure it's safe." She said.

"Great! Let's go!" John said.

"Hang on. We should probably come back with more dudes. We can just go past it today. Besides, We can't just leave the surve-." Lucy said before stopping mid-sentence. A sly grin crept onto her face.

"You know what? We can totally do this ourselves. Two of us can scope the place out and one can stay behind and guard the surveyors!... And I just realized I have a terrible fear of caves... So I guess that leaves you two to do the exploring part!" She said with a big grin. Misty glowered at her, while John returned her amused grin. John thought Lucy just didn't feel like trudging through the cave. Misty knew better, and she made a mental note to punch her sister later.

"Hey, I don't think this is a good idea. Maybe we should come back with more people tomorrow." Misty said. She looked over to John, only to see that he was no longer where he was standing a moment ago.

"What was that?" John called out from the entrance of the cave.

"Hey, I found a torch by the entrance." He then yelled out. Misty paused for a second trying to think of an exit. She couldn't, and finally huffed out in annoyed acceptance. Her brow furrowed as she trudged to the cave. She shot back one last nasty look to Lucy, who returned a big shit-eating grin. Misty caught up with John as a light drizzle started. Lucy and the surveyors set up a tent to wait it out.

Misty and John looked down the the dark pit with a dangerous set of spiral staircase leading to the dark bottom. John kicked a pebble into it and they waited several seconds to hear it strike the ground. They expected a sharp noise, but instead heard a low, eerie whine. John and Misty gave a slightly unsettled look at one another. Finally John spoke up.

"Well. Ladies first!" John said. Misty was about to chide him for his perceived cowardice, but before she could, John took exaggerated effeminate steps down the flight of stairs. Misty was quick to follow. As John held the torch, they both carefully made their way down to the base. They could each tell that they both were getting anxious. John tried to think of something funny to say to ease the tension. He racked his brain for a few seconds as they walked down a tight, dimly lit corridor.

"Gee! Sure is spooky down here!" John said awkwardly. Misty looked at him with a confused face. John pursed his lips in embarrassment. Wiffed! John thought to himself. They both continued down the hall until it opened into a larger alcove. From here, they could tell that these were some forgotten catacombs. sealed caskets and shelves of exposed nezumi skeletons. Most of them seemed like warriors. Adorned in armor. With shields and weapons nearby or even in the skeletons' hands.

"Ok. Now it's a bit spooky." Misty said matter-of-factly.

"I swear to Cosmos, if these skeletons come to life and attack us, I'm freaking the fuck out." John said.

"Yeah. Me too. But maybe we can loot sweet old coins and the same shitty weapons dozens of times!" Misty said, trying to lighten the mood. The two of them scoped around the Large round room and noticed nothing or real note except an entrance further into the gravesite. The two of them each pressed up to the wall on each side of the entrance and peered into the hallway. Nothing but darkness and silence.

"There's nothing to worry about. This place probably hasn't been explored for centuries." John said confidently. A split second later, an ear-splitting screech rang through the caverns. Both John and Misty's blood ran cold at the startling and terrifying noise. Their teeth gritted and their eyes grew wide. Misty's ears shot straight up. John did a quick about-face and began to walk towards the entrance.

"Well, I think we've seen enough! What do you say we link up with Lucy and the others? Erk!" Misty grabbed John's ear and kept him from walking away. John stopped and rubbed his ear.

"Just a thought." John said sheepishly. The loud, horrible noise returned. The duo pressed forward, despite not wanting to. John led the way as misty held the torch in her off hand. Her right hand firmly on the handle of her weapon. They continued cautiously deeper into the caverns. They pass through three similar looking alcoves. Each one seemed just a little bit more recent. Like the original alcove was the first generation of Burmecians to bury their dead there, and when it filled up, a newer one was dug deeper into the cave. After the fourth alcove, the pair halted against a wall.

"Yeesh! How far deep does this thing go?" John said.

"It can't be too much further. But we haven't run into whatever is making that horrible scream yet." Misty responded. As if on cue, the loud screech returned. It seemed a lot closer. They both pursed their lips as they steeled themselves to continue.

"Alright. Let's just kill that horrifying abomination and get back, already." Misty said.

"Righty-oh." John affirmed. They ventured forth into the next hallway carefully.

"It has to be close. Be ready." John said seriously.

"I'm always ready!" Misty said, trying to put on a brave face. Her ears pricked up.

"Wait! What's that noise?" She asked. They both halted and looked around as a series of ticking and crackling noises repeated and seemed to get louder. After a couple of seconds, they looked down and noticed that their feet were surrounded by a series of cracks. And the cracks were getting more numerous.

"Oh shi-" John tried to get out as the floor fell apart beneath them. They both yelled out as they fell and landed on the ground maybe ten feet below them with a loud thud.

"Gaaah!" John groaned. He was laying on his face, and began to push himself up with his arms.

"Are- are you alright?" Misty asked.

" _Yeah! Yeah. I-"_ John tried to say as he tried to put weight on his right leg. A sharp, intense pain shot up and told him that he was wrong.

" **Nope! Ahk!** What- what about you?" John asked. Misty tried to get up as well. She actually was able to pop up a bit quicker. But as soon as she took a step with her left foot, she realized something was very wrong and immediately took a knee in pain.

"Not doing too hot." She said bluntly. John tried to smile. He winced and closed his right eye.

"It's _fine. It's fiiiiiine!_ It's alright. Now that monster has a sporting chance." He said while giving a thumbs up. Misty looked concerned.

"That thing had to have heard us just now." She said.

"Maybe it won't be able to reach us down here." John said hopefully. The screech rang out and they knew it was close. John and Misty eyed each other. They were each a little banged up all over. But they knew the real damage was to his right leg and her right foot. They were in no condition to fight. Simultaneously, they closed in on each other and tried to grab the other's arm.

"What are you doing?" John asked.

"What do you mean, what am I doing? I'm _saving_ you. What are you doing?" She said.

"I'm **saving you!** " He shot back as they awkwardly wrestled to get the other on their own shoulder.

"I'm bigger than you are!" John said.

"Yeah, and your leg looks like shit! It's clearly broken. My foot's just sprained. I'm alright- **Ack!** " She said as she jolted in pain.

" **Skreaaaaaaagh! Skreeeeeeaaaaaaaaaagh!** " The noise came from somewhere very, very close. John and Misty looked at one another for a split second then leaned into one another. each keeping their combined weight on their two good legs.

"Go go go go go!" They both blurted as they hobbled towards the entrance. They moved as quick as they could through the lower corridors of the massive crypt. The halls seemed to match the ones above them and they were able to make their way to an area directly below the first area of the catacombs. They stopped and looked around.

"Shit. I don't see a way out of her. Do you?" Misty asked hopefully. John shook his head.

"Uh-uh. And that thing will be on us any second." John said. He wore a grim expression. Things weren't looking good. He then tried to put on a much braver face.

"It's fine. It's fiiine. We're gonna be fine!" He said.

" **Skreeeeegh! Eeaaaagggghh! Raaaagh!** " The noise was getting closer. John and Ashley both did their best to steel themselves for a fight. Each fighter put their weight on their good leg and readied their weapons. They heard a rustling and knew the creature was seconds away from reaching them. They saw a large looming shadow approaching. Did the creature have the ability to make fire? John thought. A bead of sweat ran down John's forehead and Misty's ears twitched, but they were as ready for a fight as they could be expected to. the shadow on the ground loomed larger. The rustling grew louder and finally a claw grasped the side of the entrance. A very small, green scaled hand. A hand that was only two or three feet from the ground. The tiny scaled hand was followed by a somewhat less tiny scaled head. Two large, shiny eyes peered at the invaders. Yellow eyes with large, black, slitted pupils peered back at them with concern. A kobold. It was the first time either of them had seen one. They were said to be vicious little creatures that attacked on sight. The kobold looked nervously at the two intruders and then towards her back. John and Misty could hear chittering back and forth. Who knew how many of these creatures there were? The kobold chittered to it's cohorts a bit more before it turned it's head back to the taller beings.

"W-we no want to fight! You no hurt us, we no hurt you! Yes?" The kobold nervously said. Misty and John looked at each other and then back at the kobold.

"Ok." They said in unison. They were still uneasy, but the two of them knew they were in no condition to fight. The kobold looked back and chittered. After a brief exchange of the strange speech the kobold once again looked towards them.

"You can walk? We take you to healing, then lead you to exit." The kobold said a bit more assertively. John and Misty both nodded. Still using each other for support, they hobbled along towards the kobold. They turned the corner to see four other kobolds peering at them cautiously. A couple of them clutched weapons nervously. While the smallest one seemed to have something bundled in a blanket in it's arms. At first, John couldn't tell what it was, until the top of said thing twisted unnaturally and a pair of shiny yellow eyes met his. A small, sharp looking beak opened up.

" **SHHHRAAAAAEEEEE!** " This was the source of that noise. Misty and John looked in disbelief. It was a baby barn owl. It was kind of cute in a creepy sort of way. But the tiny thing was no doubt the source of the terrible noises that they heard. The kobold holding it pet it and cooed, trying to calm it. The kobold that spoke to them motioned it's head to follow them. It had a certain swaying to it's gait that implied that it was female. John and Misty still had to depend on each other for support. Neither of them were fully trusting of these creatures just yet, but they weren't really swimming in options. As they followed Misty allowed her thoughts to drift a bit. She realized that she has been _very_ close to this human for a good while now. Locked in each others' embrace out of necessity.

 _Oh gosh. Oh gosh. Oh gosh. Don't think about how cute he is! Or how strong his arms feel!_ Misty thought to herself. She gritted her teeth and blushed. Looking away to avoid making eye contact. John himself was having similar trouble focusing.

 _Well, here I am._ John thought. _Arm in arm with a lady, just like I always imagined. She is pretty cute... For- for a Burmecian. And smart. And cool._ John began to blush. _And- and witty. And. And. And..._ John noticed that his hand was holding the bare grey fur of her arm. _**She's so cuddly!**_ John thought as his supportive grip around her tightened a little bit. His blush intensified until his face became beet-red. His gaze turned upward as his expression became flustered. The lead kobold looked back at them with a very concerned face.

"Why you both strange color? You bring sickness to my hold?!" The kobold asked sharply. John and Misty looked at one another, and then immediately looked away. Trying to play it cool.

"No. No. It's nothing." Misty quickly said.

"Yeah. Besides the whole falling thing, we're as fit as a fiddle!" John added. The kobold eyed them wearily but moved forward. They continued deeper into the artificial shafts until they noticed more and more sources of light. Torches, mostly denoting small entrances that little busybodies came to and fro. Many stopped to watch as the two wounded giants were being led by the group. The area was a decently large alcove. John looked around and saw more and more of those little holes as well as several tents and even some huts. Several kobolds seem to have been doing things for their collective good. Some were preparing wild plants, fish, and game for consumption. Others were making primitive weapons and tools. Others still were making clothing and other materials out of thread and pelt. They go on a bit further until they finally reached what looked like the largest structure in the underground village. The kobold held her hand out and stopped them. She went inside through a cloth opening, and the human and nezumi found themselves waiting for a few minutes. They heard chittering all around them as they were eyed by passersby.

Finally the kobold that they first met popped her copper colored head through the gap in the fabric.

"You come in! Listen to Elder. Get healing. Yes?" She said. With no other options, John and Misty both nodded dumbly. They passed through the fabric covering the entrance to see an old looking kobold sitting on a pillow. A few other kobolds sat with him. One looked like he or she was there to tend the old one's well being, a few held crude weapons and eyed the visitors suspiciously. A few others appeared to be on the older side as well. _Probably also leaders or advisors or something._ John thought. The elder kobold eyed them and began to speak.

"Greetings, outsiders. I must tell you that your arrival brings with it a great deal of excitement. We've been planning our next contact with those outside of our den for quite some time. Oh! but you two look like you've taken quite a spill." The elder kobold snapped his fingers and gestured for one of his nurses to approach them with two plain wooden cups. The female kobold handed them each a cup, and John eyed the thick liquid inside. He and Misty looked at one another and shrugged. They each downed the contents and then blanched at the strong, mushroom taste. Their looks of disgust were quickly replaced with looks of relief as they felt their pains fade away. Previously using each other for support, they both stepped away and put pressure on both legs. They were overjoyed to find themselves back to fighting fit. The elder kobold grinned, but kept his stern gaze.

"Now. We have healed you. You should no longer be in a distressed or pained state. I have things that I'd like to discuss with the both of you." He said. John and Misty looked at him intently.

"Our hold has been hidden away for a very, very long time. How did you find it? And why did you enter?" The elder asked. Misty and John both looked at each other. After a pause, Misty spoke.

"Our two kingdoms, as well as a third one, have come together to build a great series of roads. We are part of a group that is scouting out the land in order to make sure the routes are sound." She said.

"And you stumbling upon our home means said road will be upon or very near it, doesn't it?" The elder said. Misty nodded.

"They won't make the roads right on top of you, but I don't know how far they will be willing to change the paths. It will likely be pretty close." Misty said honestly. The elder kobold looked towards the ground and held his chin.

"I knew the day would come for us to be discovered by the greater world. But that you are going to build a road right to us? This is troubling." The elder said.

"Perhaps you could send an envoy... You know. Seek an audience with our leaders. I'm sure they would hear you." Misty offered. The elder shook his head.

"Our village is small and weak. Our numbers and the things that we can create to aid or even defend ourselves, all pales in comparison to the great kingdoms of this land. My forefathers chose to keep us hidden for a reason." He said.

"I think our leaders empathize with your concerns, sir." Misty said. She looked away with a tiny bit of sadness. John rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"I've been thinking for some time now that we would have to end our isolation. Perhaps your arrival was fate finally forcing my hand. I... I will consider my options." The elder said.

"Why don't you send someone with us?" John asked. Misty quickly turned her head to him. Her face was incredulous at his sudden offer.

"Aheheheh!" Misty laughed, and then grabbed John by the ear. She turned him away from the kobolds and pulled his head close to hers to whisper in privacy.

"Ow-ow-ow! What gives, Misty?!" John whispered. Rubbing his ear.

"What are you doing?! _Send someone with us?_ " Misty whispered in a harsh tone.

"Well, uh- Yeah... Why not?" John asked. Misty didn't immediately have an answer.

"Uh... Well... I don't know! But I just don't think it's such a good idea to be so rash about this. Let them sort it out with like an official ambassador or something! Besides. This isn't our job. We were supposed to guard the road surveyors. Nothing more." Misty said. John shrugged.

"Actually, my job is whatever. Ever since I found out my mom is a mass-murderer and I quit." John said calmly, shrugging. Misty grasped her temple with her thumb and finger and rubbed it in frustration.

"Come on. They did us a solid. We should repay the favor." John said. Misty knew it would likely get more complicated than that. John likely did as well, she mused. He was just an optimist. That, or just naive. The truth was that Misty just wanted to get this day over with and take a bath. So she acquiesced.

"Alright, fine! We'll take a few of them with us and try to get an audience with the king." Misty said. John made a jokingly half-hearted victory pose.

" _Yeeea._ " he said quietly.

"And I'm sure the neighboring kingdom's queen and _general_ will want to know all about this hidden community right in their midst. I'll bet ya, they'll come poking around in no time!" Misty said smugly.

" **Fuck!** " John blurted out as Misty's words struck true. He smiled nervously. Realizing that he probably should have kept quiet. John shrugged and giggled. He'd deal with whatever would happen later. John and Misty turned back to the slightly confused kobolds. They both smiled at them reassuringly.

"We'd be _happy_ to escort some of your own to my home kingdom!" Misty said. Putting on her warmest, most saleswoman-like mannerisms. John beamed behind her. The kobolds had a huddle of their own. After about a minute, they turned back to the two mammals.

"Although I don't believe that this is a decision to make lightly, my daughter, Daphne shall accompany you to the nearest large kingdom... That _is_ where you both are returning to, correct?" The elder said and then asked. John and Misty both nodded. The elder continued.

"Very well. We can take you to the entrance... If you are ready, of course." He said. Misty nodded.

"We have people waiting for us outside. They're probably getting worried." She said.

Lucy was getting worried. She stood guard outside the carriage and began to pace around. It was getting dark out, and they should have been back by now. She had wanted get her sister out of her shell a little bit. In hindsight. Sending her alone in a secluded cave with a guy that she may or may not like was probably a shit idea. Lucy wasn't quick to jump to conclusions, but she'd send General Beatrix her son back in pieces if he hurt Misty in any way. Lucy brushed these thoughts aside.

"My sister and the goober probably got lost down there." She said to herself. Lucy began to consider going in after them. That would leave the surveyors waiting unprotected, but she'd have to take that risk, Lucy surmised. Right before she could put any plan into action, she saw the light of a couple of torches emerge from the entrance. Lucy was relieved to see two familiar figures come towards her, but became confused when a third one appeared as well. A small and dark golden-brown figure following briskly along. Lucy's first instinct was to draw her weapon and get a bead on the little creature. But even at a distance, Lucy couldn't deny what she was seeing. The human and nezumi's mouths were moving, and their heads were tilting back to the scaled beastie. The two of them were _chatting_ with the kobold following them.

Misty, John, and Daphne approached the carriage with Lucy guarding the outside. Misty could tell that her sister was perplexed by the third body that now accompanied them. She locked eyes with Lucy and held out her hand casually to ease her worries. Lucy waited for the three of them to reach speaking distance before she opened her mouth.

"The last thing I expected you two to find in there was a friend, sis." Lucy said with a smirk. Daphne took another step forward to introduce herself. She grabbed the ends of her dark blue skirt and did a sort of curtsy.

"Greetings! My name is Princess Daphne. Future queen of the kobold tribe." She said respectfully. Lucy, a bit taken back, awkwardly waved.

"Uh... Hi! I'm Lucy Gunn. Misty's sister." She said. John leaned towards Misty to whisper in her ear.

"I thought her father said he was the _chief_ of the kobolds." He said to her quietly. Misty shrugged.

"Eh. King, chief, head honcho. Splitting hairs when you think about it. I mean. What the fuck's a _regent_?" Misty responded.

" **Right?** King's not special enough for _Lindblum_ " John said, smiling. He fluttered his hands dismissively as he said Lindblum. He and his friends always wondered that.

"So- Uh... Are we taking our new friend home for a sleepover or...?" Lucy asked, swiveling her hand and leaving her question unfinished. Waiting for an answer.

"The kobolds have been living in the catacombs in hiding for generations. When we found them, they asked us to take one of their own to seek an audience with our king. And eventually the human rulers." Misty said. Lucy shrugged.

"Alllllright. That's about as weird as anything else I'd expect here." She said.

"Well. I think it's time to head home now... Before Dad sends the entire Burmecian army looking for us. Hey John." Lucy continued.

"Yeah?" John asked.

"Don't you have to, like- Report to a superior or something?" Lucy asked.

"Nah. A Sergeant showed up at the inn that I was staying at, last night." He said.

"And?" Misty said, looking a bit anxious. She wasn't concerned over a massive international incident, but the last thing she wanted was to walk home to any incident at all.

"I told her to fuck off." John said casually, like he was telling someone what he had for breakfast. Both Misty and Lucy shot him an annoyed look.

"You told a soldier working for your parents to _fuck off_. Did you... say anything else?" Misty asked. John looked back at her and shrugged, holding out his hands.

"What? I said I quit. I told you this underground." He said.

"Alright, alright. Just. Where you professional about it?" Lucy asked. John's mouth curled into a big, toothy grin.

" _Oooof cooouuuurse I did!_ " John said. His face and tone intentionally doing little to assuage their concerns.

Back in Alexandria Castle, a lone soldier stood at attention. She was standing before one of the most powerful figures in her kingdom. Adelbert Steiner, Captain of the Knights of Pluto. Steiner had long since abandoned his old suit of armor, and wore a dignified outfit. Nice boots, loose fitting brown slacks, and a clean, white buttoned shirt. His greying hair connected to a set of thick mutton chops that ended right at a clean shaven upper lip and chin. A pair of thick, squarish glasses rested on the bridge of his nose. A recent addition that afforded him no shortage of grief from the king.

Although technically not her superior, Not a single soldier in the army would risk blowing off the commander's husband. Steiner had a very stern, troubled even, look on his face. His demeanor was doing little for the soldier's nerve.

"Did he say anything else?" Adelbert asked.

"Sir... I'd rather not repeat it." The soldier said. The captain grabbed her by the arms and looked at her intensely.

" **What did he say?!** " Steiner demanded.

"He told me... To tell the general to _go die._ " The soldier said. Reluctantly obeying his orders. Discomfort obvious on her face. Steiners face immediately drooped in shock and disappointment. He let go of the soldier and began to pace around. Holding his face in his hands. He let out a long, calming sigh and then began to talk to himself. Seemingly forgetting that the soldier was there.

"This... This is all just a misunderstanding. I'll go to Burmecia and retrieve my boy. Give him a long, stern talking to. There will be discipline, but I'll do my best to warmly set him on the right path. The queen- _and my wife_ don't even need to hear a word of this." He said, formulating his course of action. The soldier watched him awkwardly as she was not dismissed. She said nothing until hearing his last sentence.

"Um... Sir?" She said, somewhat meekly. Adelbert turned his head to meet her gaze.

"I reported to my superior when I first returned. She is likely informing the queen as we speak." She said, hating to continue being the bearer of bad news. Steiner's pupils shrunk as said news hit him.

" **He said** _ **what**_ **?!** " The queen of Alexandria practically shouted. Teeth clenching a thick cigar, lips curled in an extremely amused grin, and eyes staring right at the reporting Staff Sergeant. Before giving the soldier a chance to respond, Garnet reared her head back and began to laugh out loud.

" **Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!** " Garnet let loose a long, loud belly laugh unbecoming of a queen. She was laughing so hard that she actually stood up from her throne. Her husband sitting next to her could only look away with an uncomfortable stare. Garnet slowly calmed herself, holding her cigar in her hand as she sat back down.

"Aheh-heh... Whoo. And what of the Steiners? Have they been informed?" Garnet asked intently. With her cheek resting on her fist.

"Captain Steiner is likely being informed now. General Beatrix... Is inspecting the garrison in Treno. Your highness." The soldier responded, trying to hide her agitation. Garnet pondered for just a second. Then stood up and headed for the door leading outside her throne room. Not giving her husband or the soldier a second look.

A light drizzle began to fall as the sun began to set. Garnet made her way towards the chocobo stables outside the castle. Garnet suspected that her old comrade would immediately set out to confront his son. Her assumptions proved correct. A flustered steiner had a heavy brown cloak draped over his old suit of armor. Steiner was known for wearing something more dignifying in his day to day. But on big training missions or solo outings such as this one, he was still predisposed to wearing his thirty year old suit of armor. Albeit a lot better kept. Steiner was hastily preparing a single chocobo. He didn't notice his queen step in. Garnet stood there for two or three seconds before Steiner caught her in the corner of his eye. He did a very quick double take before quickly turning to her to greet her.

"Uh-h Hello, your majesty. Your highness, please forgive my son's transgressions. I am going to straighten this matter out at once! I swear it on my honor as Knight of Pluto!" Steiner blurted out resolutely. Standing tall. Garnet closed her eyes for a moment and inhaled. She slightly rolled her neck then locked eyes with her subordinate. She spoke in a slow, blunt, and casual tone.

"Adelbert. I... don't want you... making a scene. The boy will come around." Garnet said.

"Your ladyship, please! He is bringing shame upon our kingdom. I won't let my boy do anymore damage!" Steiner said.

"Obviously the boy has gleamed some things about before he was born. Are you certain you won't worsen the divide?" Garnet said calmly. Steiner looked away and thought for a second. But he stood resolute.

"I shall not fail you, your highness." He said with determination. He then climbed atop his steed and rode away. Garnet wore a strange expression. Half a sneer covering a look of deep concern.

"I'm _not_ the one I'm worried about." She said to herself. Garnet sighed and then began to prepare another chocobo.

It was very late by the time the survey carriage approached the gates of Burmecia. A group of worried looking soldiers were waiting for them. Misty was a little nervous about how they would receive their new guest. It was awkward enough introducing the little kobold to the three surveyors. But the carriage was hailed and they were approaching. The carriage stopped. A soldier hastily walked up and opened the door. The soldier was an older, skinny man. Obviously in charge of at least that group. The mustachioed senior looked around at the group and smiled warmly.

"Well, hello there. Running a bit late, are we?" He said in a friendly manner. He was grinning ear to ear and was obviously just relieved that no one was hurt. One of the surveyors smiled back.

"We've found an... obstruction in the planned route." He said, motioning his head towards their strange, little guest. The soldier glanced towards the kobold and his expression changed to one of intrigued surprise.

"...Rrrrrighteo! What's all this then?" He asked.

"This is Daphne, the princess of a kobold tribe living in a network of caverns to the east. She's come to seek audience with the king." Misty said. The soldier eyed the kobold incredulously. Daphne put on a friendly face and waved at him. He awkwardly waved back and then shrugged.

"Well that's about as weird as anything else we'd expect with these newfangled roads. But the king is very, very busy. Not only that, but we take his highness' safety very seriously. We can't let any old creature see him at a whim. We-" The soldier explained until he was cut off by a head peeking in from the side of the door. The head of a brown-furred nezumi, wearing a large, ornate metal helmet.

"Hey, are you guys alright? I was about to send out a search party. You know, as the king of Burmecia, It's my duty to make sure that my people are safe!" Puck immediately said. The soldier at the carriage door slumped his shoulders and exhaled in annoyed defeat. The king of Burmecia just decided to take a stroll to the front gates. Alone. Again.

"Your majesty. We have problem with the route planned for the highway." One of the surveyors said.

" _Oh?_ " The young king of Burmecia eyed the light brown kobold with curiosity. A moment later, Puck took a step back and Daphne stepped out of the carriage and curtsied. Puck then took the kobold by the hand and led her to a nearby table. The tables were set up as place to rest at the edge of the city for travelers and people who worked outside the city walls. Sturdy, concrete tables and stools with large umbrellas over them was as good a place as any to take chat with a subject or a visitor. At least according to the current king. The rest of the group got out one by one. Misty was happy to finally make it back to Burmecia, until she heard a voice shouting in the distance.

" **Misty?! Lucy?! Where are my daughters?!** " A gruff, deep voice could be heard and Misty looked over to her left to see a older Burmecian man marching down the street towards the entrance to the city. His sturdy frame took long strides as he hastily approached. He was a middle aged nezumi with quasi-messy, dark grey medium length hair parted at the side of his scalp. Aside from his shouting. Misty could hear a light jingling with each heavy step. Many have assumed that this was the sound of coin coming from the large satchel at his side. This was an easy mistake to make, but a very big one for those who got big ideas to rob the older rat. What rested in abundance in said satchel was the fruit of his vocation. An art practiced in his family for generations. First proudly, then proudly in secret, then proudly in the open once more. Now he was passing his skills to his many children. Never one to shy away from a fight or a sale. Reggie Gunn, Weaponsmith, was a man who never accepted failure and set his mind on his tasks with laser-like focus. And now, he was coming to make sure his daughters were safe.

"Misty rolled her eyes and sighed as she stepped off of the carriage. Lucy poked her head out behind Misty and immediately withdrew back inside. As Misty stepped aside, John stepped out and glanced towards the approaching rat. John looked confused. Misty tilted her head back to him and spoke.

"Hey. This is gonna sound weird, but that's my dad walking over here. And he's not crazy about Alexandrians..." She said. John nodded and held up his hand with his index finger and thumb forming a circle in an _OK_ gesture. As he began to walk away. She piped up.

"Hey! Lucy and I usually head over to Ratigan's for breakfast. Meet us tomorrow at, like eight, okay?" She called out. John nodded and gave a thumbs up. Misty turned to face her father, who was almost upon them. She locked eyes with him and already knew he had a lot of hot air built up. Reggie put his hands on his hips. He gave Misty a stern look and Misty rolled her eyes.

"What happened out, there? Why did you return with that... _beast_?" He asked her somewhat harshly. Misty's gaze shifted over to the little kobold chatting with Puck.

"There's a cave where the road is supposed to go. We had to explore it and see how large it was. That _girl's_ people live in the cave. She's come to talk with the king." Misty said with a tint of annoyance in her voice. Her father rubbed his chin.

"Hmmm. A race of savages right in our front yard. This would be great for swaying the brass towards seeing things our way." Reggie said contemplatively. Misty gave him a look of disapproval.

"Dad, they've sent someone here to make friends. And she's certainly not a _beast._ " She said to her father. Reggie smiled.

"I believe you, honey. But it won't hurt to be _cautious..._ Besides. I wasn't talking about the lizard girl. I was talking about the ape you had you suffer being near for the past several hours. Is that their _prince?_ The hell are they feeding that thing? -Ow! Jeez! What's gotten into you?" Reggie was struck in the arm by his young daughter. Who glared daggers at the confused patriarch.

John made his way back to the inn at a brisk pace. It was a longer day than he expected and he was eager to get some shut-eye. He stretched and yawned, and was grateful that he had no more business for the day. He smacked his lip lazily a few times before turning a corner. John's cheerful step ground to a halt when he came face to face with his own father. John made a face like he just drank a cup of lemon juice, then breathed in through his teeth before exhaling in annoyance. John felt the hair on his neck stand on end. Which reminded him that he was standing in the crisp Burmecian drizzle. He didn't say anything, and just stood there for a few seconds. As a mix of emotions went through his mind. His face couldn't decide if it was going for smug, confident, sad, scared, annoyed, or amused. And he couldn't quite keep his face from quivering a little bit like when he was in trouble as a kid. Even though he had a few inches on his father at this point.

It didn't help that the elder Steiner was squaring off towards him and he did not look happy. Adelbert and John Stared eachother down for a few more seconds until the older man spoke.

" **Lieutenant Johnathan Adelbert Steiner, front and center!** " he bellowed out. John's face deadpanned. He sighed and after taking a second to steel his nerves, he strode towards his father. Swaying his arms cockily, in what was probably a childish show of defiance. In a few moments, he closed the distance with his father and put himself together to cooly confront his old man.

"The two Steiners stood silently for a few seconds under the ever present drizzle. Each waiting for the other to break the ice. Finally, Adelbert lost the game of chicken and spoke.

"Have you lost your mind, boy? Who authorized your swapping duties with the prince?" Adelbert opened with. Getting right to brass tacks.

"The prince did." John said, with only a small bit of sarcasm in his voice. Adelbert closed his eyes for a moment, trying to keep himself calm. This certainly wasn't the first time his son and the prince had _creatively interpreted_ the rules.

"Very well... Why didn't you return home when you were sent for?" The elder Steiner asked sternly.

"Oh. Didn't the soldier tell you? I quit!" John said cheerily, clasping his hands. He expected his father to explode at this. Adelbert came very close to losing it then and there. But he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Johnathan, you can't just _quit being a knight of Pluto._ You swore an oath to the crown of Alexandria, and I won't allow that oath to be broken so easily. Certainly not by _my own son!"_ He said calmly.

"Yes, well it's come to my attention that that means I have to do whatever horrible thing I'm told. So now I'm **Un** swearing that oath." John said dismissively. Adelbert's patience was visibly wearing thin.

"Did you not hear me, boy? I said I won't allow you to desert your duty!" He said, agitated. John's eyes narrowed at this. His previously cool face curled into a sneer.

"This. Isn't. A request." He declared. Making it clear that he wasn't going anywhere without a fight. It took everything the Captain had to keep his cool. There were Burmecian citizens going about their business all around. He could see long grey muzzles turning towards the two humans from every direction.

"I can tell that you've... discovered some things about your mother. Just... Come home with me and we can discuss all of this civilly." Adelbert said. Trying his best to diffuse the situation.

"Discuss _what?_ How all of these accounts are false? Overblown? That my mom gleefully sending a ton of soldiers and killer dolls to slaughter an entire species is slander?!" Johnathan asked, his own facade beginning to crack as raw emotion bled into his face. For his own part, Adelbert hesitated to respond.

"Tell me, right now that these things didn't happen! That my mother isn't a monster!" John pressed on. Desperate for an affirmation. Adelbert stalled. He couldn't quickly come up with a response that he felt was suitable. Not with his son staring him in the eyes.

"Your mother... She put her faith in her queen. She did her duty with honor and without hesitation." Adelbert said calmly. John thrust his arm out towards a particularly dilapidated Burmecian street in the distance.

"You call **this** _honor?!_ Sending a bunch of killer robots or whatever to slaughter every man, woman, and child of a _species?_ If doing that is part of doing one's duty, then I want no part of it!" Johnathan said defiantly. Adelbert was visibly struggling to keep his cool.

"Beatrix felt terrible for what she had done. I once even had to stop her from abandoning the kingdom!" Adelbert said. Johnathan sneered at this.

"Oh, Self exile? What a _martyr!"_ John spat to the side, and then continued.

"If she **really** regretted her part in Brahn's campaign, she should have _killed herself_." John said with contempt. At that, any attempt at controlling Adelbert's temper dissolved immediately. His face twisted into a scowl and he immediately reared his right hand back in a fist. John was quick to see where this was going and instinctively raised his forearms in defense. Before Adelbert could throw his punch, a voice called out.

 **"That's enough Steiner!"** Both Steiners quickly turned to see their queen striding furiously towards them. A loose fitting jacket and a fine scarf swaying behind her as she moved. The father and son shared a quick glance at one another before Adelbert snapped to attention. Johnathan almost did the same out of habit, but quickly decided not to. His father didn't notice, as his attention was now focused on the queen. Garnet approached quickly and stopped in front of the two knights. A visible scowl showed on her still very youthful face/

"Your m-majesty I-" Adelbert stammered before Garnet quickly held up a finger to silence him. The three stood in silence for a second until the queen spoke.

"Captain Steiner. A word in private, please." She then turned and walked about six or seven meters away before turning around and motioning for the older man to follow. Adelbert hurriedly answered her beckoning. Leaving John to stand there alone, staring at the pair awkwardly. When Garnet felt that the were sufficiently far away to be inaudible, she berated her subordinate.

" **What** did I tell you about causing an incident?" She asked angrily.

"Forgive me, your highness. I lost my composure for a moment. But I must correct him before he does something rash!" Steiner said resolutely. Garnet tilted her head inquisitively.

"Oh? Allow me to guess. Your boy read up on some of his mother's _great military achievements,_ and now he's all distraught and conflicted. Isn't he?" Garnet said with a cold casualness, bordering on callousness. Adelbert grew flustered. He was well aware of the queens disapproval of her general's actions. And over the years mediating between them had forced him to develop a much cooler head than he had earlier in life. But the thought of his son disavowing his knighthood in front of her was almost too much to bear. Worse still that she would agree with him.

"Your grace. He just needs to come to his senses." Adelbert pleaded.

"Then he can do so on his own. Without being forcibly dragged out of this kingdom or anything that causes an incident. Would you believe that this kingdom and mine have a _strained_ relationship? I can't imagine why!" Garnet said. The last part very sarcastically.

"You don't understand." Steiner said. Garnet's lips curled into a scowl at this. Steiner was going to continue, but Garnet cut him off.

"Don't understand? Adelbert, the boy just found his _mother_ committed _genocide_ on the nezumi people. I'm the **only** person who understands!" She said angrily, poking herself in the chest with her thumb. Adelbert was taken aback by this. He averted his gaze as he struggled to decide upon a response. For her part, Garnet softened her stance and spoke.

"Listen. If you force the boy into a corner, you'll risk driving him further away from _both_ of his parents. You need to be there for him, but let him come to terms with this himself." Garnet said warmly, putting her hand on her old companion's shoulder. This helped calm the excitable knight. But he still looked conflicted.

"You ask me to cut my own son loose into this world. What will he do, should he abandon his station?" Adelbert asked glumly. Garnet paused for a moment. Taking her time to contemplate her next move.

"I will see to the boy's well being." Garnet said matter of factly. Adelbert was hesitant and reluctant to acquiesce. Garnet exhaled and put her hand on Adelbert's shoulder.

"Adelbert. You have my word that I will not sway your son's opinion any further one way or another. I'll see to it that he keeps out of trouble. All he needs is some space and a little time." Garnet said, her tone softening with warmth and sincerity. Steiner hung his head in defeat.

"Very well, your highness." He said glumly. Garnet motioned behind her pointed a thumb over her shoulder. I hitched my chocobo next to yours. Go and prepare them for the trip home, will you? I'll have a chat with your boy and catch up shortly." She said as she peered past Adelbert towards his kid, who was still standing there. He didn't have the nerve to just up and leave while the two were talking. Adelbert took one last look at John before moving to do as his queen asked. John tensed up for a split second as Garnet's icy gaze fell upon him and she approached.

"Now then. What say you?" Garnet asked. John breathed in through his teeth, apprehensive at being so blunt, but went through with it.

"I'd like to quit the knights of pluto." He said. recoiling slightly, as he expected a threat, a reprimand, some sort of negative response.

"Yeah, alright." She said casually, almost with disinterest. John was caught off guard by this. He looked confused as he shifted his glance from left to right dumbly.

"Really? Uh- Well. Great! Thanks a lot! See you around!" He said. John then quickly turned around and started to make a hasty retreat.

"Not so fast, boy." Garnet said authoritatively. John pursed his lips in a deadpan expression, and he turned around back towards the queen.

"What are your intentions now? How will you fend for yourself?" She asked.

"Oh! I talked to a few soldiers earlier. They said they pay mercenaries to help protect the road surveys and other public works. I was doing that already so I got my foot in the door!" John said with a smile, puffing out his chest.

"Hmm. That's all well and good. But I'd like to make you an offer." Garnet said cooly.

"Doooes this offer involve me staying in the knights of pluto?" John asked with a cautious look.

" **No.** It doesn't. I want you to work for me. Directly. No knighthood. No titles. No oaths beyond simple contracts. You'll answer only to me. And trust me, you'll be compensated much more handsomely by me than some middle rung of the Burmecian government." Garnet said. Fulfilling her promise to Adelbert would become a lot trickier if he refused. But after a couple of decades in power, Garnet knew how to broker a deal. John looked like he was taking the bait, but still a little hesitant.

"That... sounds great and all. But if I can be so bold... Why? I mean. _I know I'm awesome,_ but this seems a bit much for a punk like me. Surely, you can find someone more experienced." He said. Garnet tapped her left index finger with her right one.

"First of all, I somehow still have affection for your father. Seeing to _your_ well being is seeing to his. There's your _foot in the door._ " Garnet said and then tapped her middle finger.

"Second, your desire to quit is just an opportunity to have options outside of the traditional military. Which, as you recently found out, is not incorruptible." She continued before moving to her ring finger.

"Lastly, I've needed an errand boy for a while. Someone dependable, but not part of the military. Nor anyone whose status would become bothersome when working with others. Satisfied?" Garnet asked. Slightly annoyed at having to spell it out. John nodded wordlessly.

"Then what say you?" She asked, getting down to brass tacks. John shrugged.

"Yeah, alright." He said casually, almost with disinterest. Garnet gave a half-smirk.

"Well then. Instead of an oath of fealty, a mutual bond. Hold out your hand." She said. John obliged.

"Do you, Johnathan Adelbert Steiner, agree to return to Castle Alexandria, two days from today, at two pm sharp to pursue further employment?" She asked in an official tone. John gave a playfully bemused expression, but affirmed.

"Yes." He said loud and clear. Garnet's look then intensified for a moment.

 **"Good!"** Garnet shouted suddenly as she grabbed a hold of his hand like a vice. Causing John to instinctively try to break free of her handshake. He could swear he heard a loud crack of thunder and everything suddenly felt very warm. Hot, even. John gritted his teeth is discomfort before the queen of Alexandria relaxed her grip. Garnet turned to leave, but paused and turned her head back to speak.

"Remember. The day after tomorrow, two pm. And Johnathan?" Garnet paused to get his full attention. Or maybe just for dramatic effect.

"Your mother... Dedicated a good portion of her life to making up for what she was responsible for. I won't try to sway your opinion of her one way or the other, but I urge you to not to come to a conclusion overnight." She said.

"And you? She's worked for you since before I was born. Not long after... And yet you've kept her around this whole time. Do _you_ think my mother deserves forgiveness?" John asked. Garnet stood silent for a few seconds.

"Two pm, kid. Don't be late." Was all she could say. John lowered his head. Garnet was able to take a few more steps before a thought crossed John's mind.

"One last thing." He called out.

"Hmm?"

"Do I have to work alone?" John asked.

"No. I'll likely send Darron and the Quen boy along with you. Why?" She asked.

"If I can convince them to come. I'd like to bring a couple of friends that I've been working with the past few days. I can vouch for them. They're dependable." He said with his usual casual bravado, but it came off a little clumsier than usual. The older queen was sharp enough to deduce that he had a _personal_ interest in sticking with these recent comrades. _A couple of friends._ Garnet thought. She had a good guess that these were the Gunn sisters, the two pistoleers that Darron was supposed to meet. Garnet was still facing away from Johnathan. He didn't see her crack a shit-eating grin. It might just be her imagination, but it seemed to her that the son of Beatrix was a little too eager to work with fighters of the female persuasion. The grey furred, rat tailed, whiskered, female persuasion. It was too delicious not to allow.

 _ **"Suuuuuuure"**_ She said playfully.


	7. Stage Geeks

Chapter VII: Stage Geeks

It was a little before dawn in Burmecia. In one of the larger buildings near the center of the city, a young man slept peacefully atop a pile of soft, old rugs in large attic. His sleeping figure was in a somewhat humorous position. Arms strewn about, jaw slacked with a line of drool leading down to an increasingly damp spot on the young man's makeshift bedding. His breathing a peaceful, albeit ragged breathing of a snore. The man looked oddly out of place snoozing in a musty attic. He was a slender and attractive. Almost girlish in appearance. His elaborate clothing appeared to do little to keep him warm. Heavy leggings, large light blue flowing sleeves, and a matching robe covered his arms and legs, while a scanty codpiece and pauldrons left his core mostly exposed.

Out-of-place as he may be, the humanoid man slept peacefully. Without a care in the world. Completely unconscious and oblivious to his surroundings. So when another figure entered the room, she went completely unchallenged. This intruder was a tall, female nezumi clad in a large red coat and a matching pointy hat. Her outfit covered her much of her form and flowed a bit as she quickly strode to her. Wordlessly, this rat woman clutched a long, tri-pointed pole arm, as silver as her target's odd mane of feathery hair. In the dim light of the very early dawn, this rat woman leveled her weapon at the sleeping man and reared back, before lunging it forward. Right into the slender man's exposed navel.

"Rise and shine, pumpkin! Those filthy rats aren't gonna wipe out themselves!" The rat girl said cheerfully.

"Uaagh? It's ok! You vermin can live for another forty-five minutes! Ack!" The Terran looking man protested, turning away before getting poked again by the blunt tip of a fake lance.

"Come on. We got a lot of work to do, so we need to get busy." The lady in red said before poking her sleepy charge a few more times. His back turned to her, his rear end rustled under his robe before a long, silver tail sprung out and began batting the prop away. The grey-furred woman sighed and put her weapon down, realizing more drastic measures were required. She folded her arms over the large, colorful heraldry that she wore over her chest.

"If you're gonna be difficult, then you asked for it." She said with a smirk. The man's realized her intent all too late. His eyes shot open as he felt a bitter chill upon his back.

 **"Aaaaa-a-aaah!"** The terran squealed and lurched away from the freezing item that planted itself firmly into the small of his back. The bottom of the nezumi's foot. He tumbled off of his warm, cozy pile of furs and rugs and onto the unforgiving floor. The young man got up in defeat and began to stretch.

"Go clean yourself up, and then we'll grab some breakfast. Don't dawdle, we have a lot of rehearsing to do." She said with a bit of authority.

"It might take be a bit longer. I have to wash a _footprint off my back."_ He said with a bit of annoyance. The rat girl smirked and cracked her knuckles.

"Yeah? And you'll be washing a bunch of them from your _ass_ if you keep giving me _lip!"_ She said. The silver-haired Terran waved his hand at her, feigning dismissiveness before making his way to the washroom.

It was nearing two in the afternoon as John approached Alexandria castle. John made his way towards the massive structure with the Gunn sisters in tow. It took a good bit of effort on his part to convince them to see the queen about employment. They, themselves weren't entirely against it. But they told him that their father, Reggie Gunn wasn't very fond of humans. Much less, Alexandrians. Much, much less Alexandrian nobility. Still, the former knight could be very persuasive when he had to be. And he managed to convince the two to at least see what Garnet had to offer. Alexandria had it's usual hustle and bustle on display in the warm afternoon sun. A pair of burmecians still turned a few heads. Even after a couple decades, ratfolk were a rare sight in the kingdom. Few questioned why.

John felt a little awkward returning to Alexandria so soon. Running into his father would be exceptionally awkward. He couldn't imagine running into his mother. And the young man pushed the thought from his mind. He lead the Gunn sisters into the large audience chamber of the castle. Two Alexandrian soldiers stood guard, and they both glowered at him as he approached. John ignored them and pressed onward. Finally, he passed through a massive set of double doors into the throne room. The first thing that he noticed was two ornate, empty thrones. A quick tapping of a high-heeled toe drew each member of the group's gaze towards a windowed alcove. Sitting at a small, fancy table, was the queen of Alexandria. There was already a set of parchments and an inkwell. _Right to business, as usual._ John thought.

"Good afternoon, your highness." John said politely. This was a job interview, after all. Garnet nodded and extended her hand to the empty seat in front of her.

"Hello, Johnathan. Have a seat. Your two companions can wait out in the hall, and I'll interview them next. Misty and Lucy nodded and stepped back out through the door they all came from, as John sat down with the queen.

The Gunn sisters waited patiently while their friend talked shop with his would-be employer. _That kid's probably way over his head._ Misty thought to herself. Although she would have to admit that she wasn't all that much more worldly, herself. As Misty and Lucy waited, they didn't notice that they had drawn the attention of another one of the castle's residents. A wiry, blonde man, way too youthful for his years happened to be returning from a trip downtown and noticed the visitors waiting in the lobby. Zidane was used to all sorts of diplomats and business types coming and going to see the queen. Usually stuffy, high society folk. The two rat girls waiting in front of him certainly didn't fit that bill. Zidane recognized this, too. And he smiled to himself. Burmecians, he thought to himself, were a very meek race. Even before the attacks, they weren't the most adventurous sorts. Burmecian woman even more so. _They must be so uncomfortable in a foreign castle. I should try and get them to loosen up a bit. A little prodding, and I think I can get the to back-and-forth with me in no time!_ Zidane thought. And he approached the blonde one, who was the closer of the two. The bored looking rat girl noticed his footsteps and made eye contact with him.

"Hiya, rat-face!-" Zidane said. And it was all he was able to say before he immediately found two balled up fists clenching the front of his kingly shirt, and felt a sharp, dazing pain as the blond nezumi slammed him against the castle wall.

 **"The fuck'd you say to me?!"** Misty said in an enraged voice. Zidane displayed his palms apologetically and gave a nervous grin.

"I said _right face!_ You, uh, you look like you have the right face! Very trustworthy." Zidane said, quickly trying to save face. The furious Burmecian's face was mere inches from his own. Misty's face didn't soften. She wasn't buying it. Lucy rubbed her brow in annoyance. Lucy was afraid something like this would happen sooner or later. But she couldn't imagine a worse time or place. Lucy couldn't allow her sister a chance to punch out the king of a neighboring kingdom, so she snatched Misty's long ears with one hand and gave a hearty tug.

"Ack! What gives, Lucy? You heard what this little punk called me!" Misty protested. She let go of Zidane's shirt as her sister yanked her back.

"That little punk is the king of Alexandria. He's like forty years old!" Lucy said, annoyed. Zidane breathed in through his teeth and looked away at the slight.

"I'm thirty-five!" He said, defensively.

"You're _an asshole_ , is what you are. I thought you were supposed to be some gallant hero. And here you are saying such nasty things!" Misty said. Lucy scoffed at her teenage younger sister scolding a legendary hero king like a naughty child. The youthful man certainly looked the part, she supposed. Lucy was just glad she was able to keep Misty's temper under control. Zidane gave a little bow and rubbed the back of his neck under his short pony tail.

"Sorry! Sorry! I really didn't mean it. I've been so bored lately that I couldn't help but try to get a rise out of a new face!... Especially when they're as pretty as both of yours!" He said, loosening back into his old charm. Lucy rolled her eyes and Misty bared her teeth, unsure if he was mocking her again. Lucy decided not to take any chances and intercepted the situation.

"Well. I trust we didn't disappoint, your highness." Lucy said while giving a little curtsy. Zidane nodded and gave a sheepish grin. Before they could continue their conversation, Queen Garnet appeared under the door frame and cleared her throat. John was standing behind her, and it was clear that they were finished and it was the rat girls' turn to be interviewed.

"Goodness. Talk about first impressions. Most people don't know how to react when my husband decides to alleviate his boredom. I've finished making arrangements with Lie- Mister Steiner, here. I was led to believe you two have some experience as... hired help." Garnet said.

"A little. Although any long term employment has to go through our father. He's... not fond of Alexandrians." Misty said.

"Hmmm. Well, we can keep things short term for now. If I'm impressed with your work. Come in, and we can put this to paper. The Gunns nodded and entered into the throne room as John exited. John wiped a bead of sweat from his brow. Dealing with the queen was always so stressful. As john waited, he heard footsteps approaching. John put his hands in his jacket pockets in a somewhat standoffish stance. He wasn't looking forward to another confrontation with his father, and certainly not with his mother. After a few moments, the source of the footsteps came into view. Although he wouldn't admit it out loud, John was relieved to see that it was just Quaid. The two made eye contact, and Quaid piped up and approached John to talk.

"hey, Johnny! Weren't you supposed be home a few days ago? Where've ya been?" Quaid said casually.

"Uh... Burmecia." John said. Quaid scratched his head.

"Burmecia? I thought Darron was supposed to go there." Quid said. John shrugged.

"We switched." He said.

"So, how was Burmecia?" Quaid asked.

"It was really nice! But..." John trailed off.

"Hmm?" Quaid mouthed curiously. John hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"So, apparently my mother's a humongous scumbag." John said flatly. Quaid gave a neutral expression for a moment before nodding his head.

"Yeah. You could say that." Quaid said, scratching the noseless middle of his pale face. John looked away and briefly brought up his arms in a huffy shrug.

 _"And apparently I'm the only person who wasn't aware of this!"_ John said, raising his voice in irritation.

 **"Yeah. Pretty much!"** Darron's voice called out from a nearby room. Quaid shrugged.

"It's kinda common history. Everybody knows what happened twenty years ago." He said.

"I guess my folks kinda _glossed over that part."_ John said.

"So what'd _she_ have to say about it?" Quaid asked. John paused and inhaled before responding.

"I was literally shaking when I found out. My mom came into my room with a plate of chicken nuggets and I literally screamed at her and hit the plate of chicken nuggets out of her hands. She started yelling and swearing-" John spoke until he was abruptly interrupted.

 **"You what?** A whole plate of chicken nuggets? How could you?!" Quaid shouted in horror. John smirked.

"I was _kidding,_ jackass. I haven't seen her since the zahgnol fight. She's probably in Treno, executing a entire race of raccoon people for tearing up Garnet's garbage." John said, waving his hand dismissively.

"You shouldn't joke about wasting food around a qu." Quaid said with a scowl. John scoffed.

"For most peoples, the mist wars are a touchy subject. For qu's, Knocked over breaded chicken." John said with a smirk.

"Hey. The art of breading and frying strips of chicken breasts is ancient and proud!" Quaid said with a pound to his chest. Behind him, a door opens and Darron steps out to join them.

"I'm with Quaid on this one. Mostly cause I'm hungry." He said. Before they could continue, the large double door leading to the throne room burst open towards them with a loud slam. Garnet had a hand pressed on each door. Only she would open the doors to the palace in such a dramatic fashion. Behind her stood the Gunn sisters.

"Oh good. I don't have to waste time rounding you up. I have a job for the five of you." She said with her usual up-front attitude. John tensed up.

"Seriously? Already?!" John asked in disbelief.

"Of course. Did you expect anything less? It's a simple one, kids. Head to the Stilton Theatre in the center of Burmecia. There, you'll meet your contact, Felicia Harris. She will have a package for me. Bring it to me. It will probably be a cut-and-dry delivery. _Probably._ I'm assigning this task to you, in case there are... complications. You have your mission. Go. Return the package as soon as you secure it!" Garnet instructed like a general. Then she stepped out to perform the many other duties of her day.

Some time later, in the bustling center of Burmecia. Two figures stood in front of a large display. As many nezumi were going to a fro in their daily lives. None batted an eye at the strange pair. They appeared to be an odd couple on the surface, but anyone who knew anything about history would turn their heads thrice over. Before the two was a large advertisement detailing a play of sorts. A historic reenactment of events twenty years prior. Chronicling several survivors and heroes of the attacks on Burmecia. The point of interest for the two was the announced time of the first showing. Tonight at eight p.m. sharp. Three days earlier than originally announced! The two individuals, a rat girl clad in a lot of red and a monkey boy clad in significantly less blue appeared to be bickering over the change in schedule.

 **"Tuesday? Tonight?** I thought the first showing was Friday!" The slender genome said.

"Some important folks are returning from a diplomatic trip, and the director was asked to bump it forward for their homecoming." She said.

"Who?" the young man asked.

"Freya Iron Tail and her family. The lady I'm playing." She said and she patted her red hat and the colorful heraldry on her chest. The genome slouched in exasperation.

"I don't know if I'm ready." He said, sighing. _Freya_ smirked and slapped him on that back.

"Don't worry about. You're totally ready. Just go up there and... be Kuja! It's the role you were born to play." She said. The genome pursed his lips and furrowed his brow at the glowing comparison to a historically evil man.

"I'm just annoyed that nobody told me this." _Kuja_ said. The actress besides him scoffed.

"Nobody tells you _anything!_ To my knowledge, I'm the only person that even talks to you. You're like the _Zell Dincht of real life!_ Turn my head for two seconds and catch you hiding tater tots in your Kuja sleeves!" The nezumi taunted.

"Ok, this is getting a little too personal." The genome said as he lowered his hands from his face. His cheek slightly puffed out as he is clearly chewing on something, and a few golden brown crumbs dotted his face.

Meanwhile, a party of five disembarked from a large chocobo carriage. John was feeling very relaxed. A simple fetch-quest was perfectly fine to dip his toes in his new line of work. Alongside him was Misty, Lucy, Darron, and Quaid. The quintet made their way on foot from the city entrance to the center.

"Who are we looking for again?" Quaid asked as they walked.

"Felicia Harris. She's an actress who works for the Stilton Theatre Company. Apparently a new one, brought on a few months ago for the current project. A chronicling of the attack on Burmecia twenty years ago." Misty explained.

"What could my mother want from an _actress?"_ Darron wondered aloud, scratching his chin. John shrugged.

"Perhaps she just wants some autographs." John said sarcastically. Darron and Quaid looked at him with annoyed, deadpan expressions. John continued.

"So it's some sort of shady dealings. I trust that she's not planning on hurting anyone. Beyond that... It's none of my business."

After a short walk, the theatre stood before them. One of the largest buildings in Burmecia, it stood proudly and ornately. Dotted w And surprisingly required little renovations after the sacking of the city. It was hypothesized that even for _filthy rats,_ Kuja respected the art too much to allow a theatre to be destroyed. So the building stood alone and unharmed. It was a bastion for survivors for many months. They proceeded to enter the building, but before they could, a voice called out to them.

"I didn't quite know what to expect of the queen's contact, but this is quite the entourage." The voice of a young woman said. They looked right and saw a young nezumi woman sitting lackadaisical on a bench. She was dressed in heavy red coat with a matching pointy hat. Her head was tilted down so it obscured her face. She stood up and revealed herself. This was not Freya Crescent, even if she was dressed in her classic outfit. John stepped forward to examine her closely. He eyed her feet, wrapped in brown leather. Her baggy orange pants, her massive red coat, with Freya's heraldry. His eyes then trailed up to her face.

"Hmm. Muzzle a little short, fur's just a bit lighter, and Freya's eyes are green! But all in all... Not bad." John said. The rat woman scoffed.

"Thanks, _Expert on all things Freya Crescent!"_ She quipped.

"He damn well better be. Spent his entire adolescence ogling her from a distance." Darron chimed in.

"Yeah! He was always beet-red when she came near, too." Quaid laughed. John smiled awkwardly, trying to hide his anger. He shoved Darron hard into Quaid, and they both tumbled to the ground. Behind them, Lucy popped a shit-eating grin. She leaned towards Misty and jabbed her arm with her elbow.

"You hear that? Ogling Freya Crescent? The human you have a crush on is a _piper!"_ Misty made a similar face to Johns blushing grin and swiftly punch her sister in the back of her head. Sending her toppling onto the downed Alexandrians. The actress dressed as Freya looked on in bewilderment.

"Are you Felicia Harris?" Misty asked.

"In the flesh." The red clad Burmecian nodded.

"We were told you have a package for us?" Darron asked as he got back to his feet.

"Head inside towards the back of the stage. Ask for my brother, Tom Harris." Felicia said. The group all nodded and entered the theatre. They walked through the fancy lobby and down the isle of massive building. Hundreds of seats surrounded them on the left and the right. The seats were empty, of course. But they could see various actors and workers busy preparing for the show. As they drew near. The unfamiliar faces turned a few heads.

"We're lookin' for Tom Harris!" John called out, scanning the various Burmecian men, waiting for an answer.

"That would be me." A voice said aloud. The group looked towards the source of the voice, and they each gave him a look of confusion. A Young terren man dressed up to be the spitting image of Kuja looked back at them and smiled.

"Yeah. My parents say that that's the face the midwife made when my head popped out." He said jokingly.

"Pfft. Well, alright. Your sister said you had a package for us." Lucy said, suppressing a laugh. Tom scratched the back of his head.

"Uhhh. We don't have it yet." He said, embarrassed. A look of mild concern appeared over the group's faces.

"We have a very scary woman who happens to be the leader of a country waiting on us, and I'd really like to not fuck up." John said.

"Preachin' to the choir there, Bud. Thing is, we're actors in this play. And a bunch of nobles twisted the director's arm into moving the first day forward a few days. On top of that, we're scrambling to find a few replacements." Tom said.

"Don't you guy's have understudies?" Darron asked.

"Most do, yeah. But the three roles we're having trouble with are Brahne, Zidane, and Quina. There isn't a surplus of terrens, qus, and fat humans in Burmecia right now.

"Oh is that all?" John pointed to Darron, then himself, then Quaid.

"You have a terran, a qu, and a fat woman right here." He said as he pointed to each in order. Quaid's brow furrowed at being called a fat human woman.

"You think you guys can act in a play with like six hours prep time?" Tommy asked with more than a hint of doubt in his voice. John gave a wide, eager grin.

"No! This is a terrible idea. Nothing good would come out of our dumb asses performing in this somber, historical play. But it looks to me like you guys don't have any other options." John said. Tom gave him a contemplative look as he cupped his girlish chin.

"You make a strong argument!" Tom said.

"I don't know about this. I'm not comfortable in front of large crowds. What happened to the original actors, anyway?" Quaid said.

"They're in a hospital for food poisoning. Apparently, a caterer dropped a bowl of chicken tenders on the ground, and instead of throwing them away, he picked them all up to feed to his dogs. Problem is that he left the bowl on a table and another caterer didn't know and fed them to the crew. All the nezumi have understudies, but the other three are out of luck." Tom said. Quaid wiped a tear from his eye.

"Such a tragedy. We will do whatever we can to help!" Quaid said passionately.

"If the guys help you, will you be able to get Garnet's parcel?" Misty asked.

"Well, my sister and I have to perform tonight. But if everything goes well, one of us could go get it from our contacts from Cl-lindblum- Aherghm _Lindblum."_ Tom said. Misty held her temple between her two fingers and sighed.

"If it's the only way, then fine. I wanna see this anyway." Misty said. Afterwards a female voice called out from behind the curtains. Someone had arrived from the back of the building. A lanky girl dressed in brown and cream colored garb of an Alexandrian officer stepped out. Her skin was very pale, almost a light blue. She had a fake sword on her hip and an eye patch over her right eye. Even though John should have assumed it, he was still taken aback by a woman made up to be the spitting image of his mother.

"Oh good! Are you guys the replacements we needed?" She asked cheerily. John bared his teeth at her. His shrunken pupils fixated on her menacingly.

"Uhh. I'll be your Beatrix for the evening. The name's Patricia Coral. You can call me Patty!" Not taken aback she greeted them friendlily and extended her hand. This snapped John back to reality and he blinked a few times.

"Oh, Pa-Patty! Pleased to meet you! My name is John Steiner. I'm gonna fill in for Quina. These two knuckleheads are Darron Alexandros and Quaid Quen. They'll be Zidane and Brahn. These two lovely ladies are Lucy and Misty Gunn... They're just here for moral support.

"Heh-heh... Misty." Patty chuckled. Misty bared her fist and snarled. Lucy grabbed Misty's fist and patted her shoulder.

"Wait... Steiner, Alexandros, and Quen... You guys are all kids of people actually in this play?" Patty asked.

"I guess we are. Same for you right? Your last names _Coral,_ would brown happen to night be your natural hair color?" Darron asked. Patty beamed.

"You're right. Had to get a perm to get this frizzy thing into a proper Beatrix doo! Well, I'd love to shoot the shit with you guys. But we have a lot of work to do!" She said.

It took several hours of frantic rehearsal, as well as putting together suitable costumes. Darron, of course, fit the bill of his father perfectly. And all it took was some blonde hair dye and less regal outfit and he was good to go. John felt a little stuffy in the strange outfit that quina used to wear, not to mention a mask to give him a bizarre qu visage. Quaid's bizarre qu visage still had a near permanent scowl as he was fitted in a large, regal dress, a strange blonde wig, and had his face painted blue. Luckily, Scenes involving the three were few and brief, as the play mostly centered around Burmecian viewpoints. And They only had a few brief scenes to perform.

A few hours later, a family of three arrived to the theatre. To the anticipation of many. A carriage stopped at the entrance and out Stepped Freya Crescent, or rather Freya Iron Tail as well as her husband and her daughter. The director and several nobles were there to greet them. Freya was reluctant to attend at all, but Fratley had talked her into it. It seemed strange to her to watch an actress play her on a stage, and to be honest, Most of those events were memories that she'd rather not reexperience. Still, she and her her husband constantly did all they could for the people of Burmecia. Even if it was something as simple as appearing for morale. Ashley, Freya's young daughter, was excited to see a recreation of some of her parents' exploits. Fratley was just happy to have a night out with his family. They had just returned from a week-long trip to Lindblum, and he was ready to relax for a bit.

It was a bizarre play. Switching between many characters and many events. But as the play began and went through as well as one could hope. Quaid and John, playing Queen Brahne and Quina respectively, had no formal training in the art. But it was hand waved away that a queen supposedly under a spell would act a bit off, and Quina was infamous for acting strange as it was. This left Darron, who actually did have a bit of formal coaching. Not to mention he was playing his own _father._ Tom watched the various scenes that his role, Kuja was not a part of. There was a brief scare when a Burmecian and Alexandrian soldiers' fake swords clashed and one of them snapped and went flying. Although dull, the broken part of the blade was likely sharp, and could have really hurt an actor, or worse, a member of the audience. Luckily it went in the opposite direction and lodged itself near the top of the backdrop. Too high for the Audience to see. Finally, the first and biggest appearance of the villainous Kuja. When Freya and her companions encountered him with the queen and general of Alexandria in the ruined throne room of Burmecia.

Tom breathed in and out. Calming himself as his moment to start speaking drew near. Patty was fine, but Quaid was clearly nervous. If nothing else, furiously fanning his sweaty forehead added a bit of realism to the Brahne portrayal. Right before the curtain pulled open, Tom patted Quaid on the shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Hey. You'll be fine, man. We're here to back you up. Even if you say something a little off, Patty and I are flexible. We can adjust what we say to make it all seem natural." Tom said. The curtain opened fully and it was time to begin.

"I find this rain quite pleasant! It feels as if the raindrops themselves are celebrating our victory." Tom said in his portrayal of Kuja. As he began to act, he heard a strange noise from above. But he refrained from looking up, as that would harm his performance. He looked to Quaid and wordlessly encouraged him to say his line.

"This is a great victory. Kuja, your black mages made this conquest so easy. My only goal now is finding the king of Burmecia. We must deal with him once and for all and keep these rats from ever rising up again. Beatrix, what's taking so long?" Quaid said. Tom noticed that he didn't say the lines exactly right. But he did more than well enough to work with. Another loud snap could be heard above. Then another. Then another. As patty began Beatrix' lines, Tom finally stole a look to see the source of the noise. It took all of his composure to not break character and yell out in shock. The broken prop sword from earlier had lodged itself into the massive wooden backdrop, in the process severing most of the ropes holding it up from the ceiling.

"I don't know, Your Majesty. I've ordered Zorn and Thorn to search the perimeter, but there's been no word so far. I will join them and lead the search right away." Patty said. She was always a wiz at remembering her lines. Tom's alarm turned to near-panic as the last rope snapped, and the massive backdrop depicting the fallen throne room of Burmecia started tilting towards them. Although some Burmecians would probably appreciate seeing the three aggressors get flattened by a giant wood panel, this would be a huge disaster for the company and the theatre itself. Tom acted out of instinct and thrust his left hand into the backdrop, and held it up with his palm. The young genome began to speak Kuja's next lines as he already struggled to hold the set up behind them. His left arm buckled as his right arm emoted with his lines.

"You're wasting your time. Help. Rats often look for a new home when they sense a disaster. Help. They probably moved to that sandy tree house by now. It's too late. The king has already turned tail and fled. Help... Help!" Tom said. Playing his role while also trying to draw attention to their problem. It took Quaid and Patty a moment to understand what was happening. They stood wide eyed for just a moment before Patty nudged Quaid in the arm.

"Uh! Sandy tree house? You don't mean Cleyra? It will be difficult if they manage to make it there." Quaid said before inching towards the backdrop to help prop it up. Putting his considerable weight into it helped a great deal. Although it made the act seem a little weird as Queen Brahne and Kuja seemed to awkwardly lean against the back of the stage. Patty continued the script as she waited for the next player to appear.

"Cleyra... Unless we can get through that sandstorm, it will be impossible to attack them." She said and turned towards the side of the stage.

"Sneaky little rats! Ugh! Kuja, what do you think? Surely, with your powers, you can do something." Quaid said.

"Of course, Your Majesty. I will present you a marvelous display of my power. I am certain that you will be most pleased. I was wondering if you would gather your troops near Cleyra. I-I'm certain those filthy rats will retaliate in full force, and my black mages may not be enough." Tom struggled through his line. Cursing Kuja for being such flowery, talkative douche. Even with Quaid's help, it was a real struggle to hold the massive hunk of wood up for much longer. At this point in the script, as it did in the actual events, a Burmecian soldier arrived in a desperate attempt to challenge the Alexandrians. The actor ran in valiantly and said his line. Although the look on his face showed that he could see what was going on.

"Burmecia will never fall! Prepare to die!" The nezumi actor yelled out. Patty drew her fake sword and spoke.

"You wish to fight me? Beatrix of Alexandria?" Patty said. As she said her lines, she quickly alternated between pointing her sword at the struggling actors behind her and the severed ropes at the top of the stage. The shock the Burmecian showed was genuine and conveniently the emotion he was supposed to display in character.

"B-Beatrix?" He said. His body showed practiced fear of confronting the legendary general, while his wide eyes scanned the damage and saw the two antagonists struggling to hold the wall up.

"I commend your courage, but I will show you no mercy!" Patty said. This was the que for Freya's group to appear. A second later, they did. Felecia, Johnathan, Darron, and and a young Burmecian with a black cloth mask over his head appeared to play their parts.

"Hold it!" Darron yelled out.

"You'll have to go through us, first!" Felecia said to Patty, before turning to the Burmecian.

"We'll take care of this. Go find the king. Protect him with your life. Tell the stage hands to get new ropes for the backdrop immediately!" Felicia said. First playing the part of Freya, then quietly instructing the actor to help fix this situation. The group then turned to the antagonists. The _Burmecian Soldier_ nodded.

"Thank you, Freya. Got it!" The soldier ran off screen, and it was Patty's turn to speak.

"Ha ha ha. I've never been so humiliated in my life. I once killed a hundred knights single-handedly... To me, you two are nothing more than insects. Wait. Why does Beatrix say _two?_ " Patty said. Thankfully keeping her sudden revelation inaudible.

John, dressed as Quina, was supposed to be sort of in the background. He knew this, but he couldn't help but zero in on Beatrix, his mother. Just on another day on the job. Committing genocide. John bared his teeth and approached her. Patty was taken aback. This wasn't supposed to be a one-on-one fight with Quina. _Did this new guy not read the script?_ Patty thought. Before John could open his mouth or do something stupid, Darron grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him back. This snapped John back to his senses and he locked eyes with Darron. Who tilted his head to the villains struggling to hold the backdrop off. Quaid had his back pressed fully into it, he was fanning himself furiously with his Brahne fan. John got the gist of what was going on. They were supposed to start fighting with _Beatrix_ now. They each individually realized that they'd have to put on a convincing sword fight, while also keeping the scenery from toppling over all of them. Patty raised her sword into a fighting pose. Felicia and Darron took to the front of the stage to meet her, while John and _Vivi_ hung back to help Tom and Quaid. _Beatrix, Freya, and Zidane_ did their best to put on a spectacle to distract the audience from a distressed _Brahne, Kuja, Quina, and Vivi_ desperately pushing against the walls of Burmecia Castle.

Darron was able to synergize well with the two professional actresses and the three were able to put on a convincing show. Patty would throw a heavy overhead, Darron and Felicia would dodge, they'd counter attack with a spear thrust or a quick slash. They were a little afraid at first to clash weapons, but they knew they had to to in order to win the crowd over. Eventually Felicia went for a heavy thrust, which Patty managed to block by getting her blade between two of the three points of the spear. These were all dull, fake weapons for shows, but taking a hit from one of them would still hurt like hell. Patty looked towards the stage and saw that her co-stars were all struggling. Before her clash with Felicia ended, she leaned in and spoke.

"Hey, maybe you two should tag out with your two buddies. I don't know how long they can keep this up." She said. Felicia mouthed _ok_ and she discretely tapped Darron and tilted her head back. Darron got it and they retreated to the background. Now it was _Quina and Vivi's_ turn to take on the general. It was mostly on John to fight Patty with a giant fork. The boy portraying Vivi mostly hung back chucking flashy pyrotechnics. John and Patty went at it for a little while. It wasn't John's first choice for a weapon, but his parents had given him at least a modicum of training with pole arms. Over the last few days, he'd like nothing more to take some sort of weapon to his mother. So it didn't help, or maybe it did, that he was supposed to duke it out with a girl dressed up to look like her. John kept himself under control and they were able to continue the fight. They juked each other's slashes and thrusts for another minute, but the rest of the actors were really struggling. Patty knew they were at their limit, so she called out the end of the fight.

"ignorant fools!" She raised her sword, and pulled out a small pouch. She was ready to dish out Beatrix' final attack. Unfortunately, Felicia and Darron were too wrapped up in keeping the wall upright.

"Ahem! **Ignorant fools!** " Patty yelled out again. John and Vivi's actor were still in a battle stance. Unfortunately, this meant that Felicia and Darron had to step up as well. They did so, leaving Tom and Quaid to bear the burden themselves for just a short bit longer. Teeth gritted and eyes wide with strain. The four protagonists of this play lined up in a battle stance. They might have fluffed it up a bit more under normal circumstances. Did some dramatic poses, said some cool lines. But with the current situation. They needed to hurry it up. Patty lept up and towards her opponents. As she landed, she hurled the pouch on the ground in front of her feet. This released a big flash. Meant to imitate one of Beatrix' trump cards. A technique that could incapacitate several opponents at once. Felicia, John, Darron, and a young boy in a black mask knew to drop to the ground. Selling their defeat to the crowd. Unfortunately, the heroes at this point were scripted to job to the villains. The four of them fell to Beatrix and the scene was almost over.

"How ridiculously weak! Isn't there anyone who is worthy of facing me?"

Quaid mustered all of his remaining energy to say his lines.

"Come, Beatrix. We must prepare to invade Cleyra." Quaid said.

"Yes, your majesty." Patty said. This was Brahne and Beatrix' time to leave the stage. Doing so, however would leave four actors on the ground and Tom alone to hold the backdrop while simultaneously delivering the final lines of the scene. Instead, Quaid and Patty slowly shimmied towards the edge. Holding the scene and giving Tom a chance to wrap things up.

"Nowwhatdowehavehereanotherfilthyratandwhatsthishuhthisboycouldbeaproblem." Tom said. Throwing professionalism to the wind and saying his line as quickly as possible. He was led to believe that Kuja had originally mounted a great silver dragon. Something like that wasn't in the budget. And that fact had to be fudged. Tom simply had to walk of stage as the curtain closed. Many in the audience found it odd that the curtain seemed to zip shut.

In the fanciest of box seats. Sat the Iron Tail family. Fratley was grinning ear to ear. He had one of the nicest views in the house. And he could tell exactly what was going on the whole time. This was a rough time for his wife. But the sight of those poor actors struggling to literally keep the act from falling apart was just rich. They even made him feel just a little sympathy for Brahne and Kuja, of all people. He turned to his wife to laugh, but Freya's face was deathly serious. _I wonder if she thinks they are making sport of the story. Or maybe just reliving this part of her life is just a bit too much._ Fratley thought to himself. He put his hand on his wife's shoulder to comfort her.

"Hey. It's alright, my love. It simply looks like something malfunctioned. I'm sure the actors tried their best!" Fratley said. However, Freya's scowl only deepened. It was as if she was entranced.

"Yes. It's almost like I'm right there again, twenty years ago." Freya said. Her eyes narrowed. Fratley didn't notice, but Freya's eyes were laser-focused on the man portraying the true villain of the play, of the events twenty years ago.

The curtain closed and the actors barely made it safely from the falling wall. The crew got right to work removing the fallen backdrop and setting up the next scene. Kuja made no more appearances in this play, so Tom could breath easy. Freya, Zidane, and Beatrix had two more scenes. Cleyra, and Alexandria. Brahne, only the latter. As Quina was also finished, John returned to his two Burmecian friends to watch his other companions muddle through the other scenes. Tom fetched Quaid a quick meal and some coffee. He would need it, even for the easy scene ahead of him. The broken scenery took the hardest toll on the two of them. Who didn't take part in the fight. Afterwards, Tom retired to his room, a large store room in the theatre's second floor. He still had work to do.

After a little less than an hour. The play went off without a hitch, switching between several survivors doing all they could to minimize the massive casualties. Most notably, Fratley and Puck rallying the survivors into one collective. The beginnings of a Burmecia and a Cleyra ready to rebuild. And, of course, Freya's final confrontations with Beatrix before her _change of heart._ During that scene, John couldn't help but sneer.

"Tcht. What a convenient time to suddenly realize all the horrible shit you were doing is horrible shit!" He said with disgust. Misty, sitting next to him, kicked him in the shin.

"Hush! We're trying to hear!" She admonished him.

A lot of what happened with Freya, Zidane, and the rest of her comrades was omitted from the play. The public at large only knew cursory details of Garland and the true events. As far as the Continent was concerned, only the heroes of the day, and leaders of the kingdoms were truly privy to what happened, and how close the world was to destruction. The monarchs of Alexandria, Lindblum, and Burmecia, and a little girl who managed to talk a queen into giving her a great deal of power.

The play ended, and after a short break, The group reunited and met with Felicia.

"Thanks for the help with the play. Give me a minute to change, and then we can go get your queen's thing." Felicia said. She started to make for her own dressing room. She made it halfway to the door until the sound of rain hitting the nearby windowpanes increased tenfold. A flash of lightning briefly light up the room. Felicia stood still, pursing her lips in bemused annoyance. She breathed in sharply through her teeth and turned back around.

"Fuck it! I might as well stay in this giant red raincoat!" Felecia said. She lead them a bit further down town. It wasn't a terribly long walk, but long enough for them to shoot the breeze a bit.

"So, John. How'd you like seeing your ma's _noble deeds_ sort of in person?" Quaid asked with a shit-eating grin. It might have been a touchy subject, but Quaid, John, and Darron had been friends their whole lives. And they never passed up an opportunity to mess with one another. John gave an angry grin.

"Well, I spent the rest of that play sitting next to pretty girls. So I can answer your question perfectly withthisfartI'vebeenholdingin!" John said, saying the last part rapidly. He quickly walked up to Quaid and lifted one leg like a dog about to pee. John farted in Quaid's general direction and then rapidly fanned the gas towards his friend with his hand. 

"Ah! Dick!" Quaid dashed away from John towards a nearby puddle. He slashed his large hand into the water and flung some of it towards his opponent. The three Burmecian ladies each expressed varying degrees of amusement at the childishness on display. But they all continued on and were able to get Garnet's package without further incident. John's group parted ways with Felicia, and she made way back to the theatre.

It had been an hour or two since the play had ended. Most of the audience had left, but the director had a small dinner prepared for several people of note. Most notable, two of the real life heroes themselves. Freya had wondered if the actors would be there. The director had said that while they were more than welcome, they didn't _have_ to come. And many chose instead to rest of go have some fun in town. Freya found it hard to concentrate. She tried her best to be pleasent with her company, but she left most of it to Fratley. _He was always better at that kind of shit anyway, at least after he lost his memory._ Freya thought to herself. Sitting nearby, Freya couldn't help but overhear two of the actresses that _did_ show up. Two young girls dressed as Cleyran maidens.

"Aren't Felicia and Tommy going to come. It's not like him to pass up free food. Felicia left with those replacements shortly after the play concluded. Tom's probably in his room upstairs talking like he always does." The girl on the left said.

"I'm surprised he's not out with her. They're usually inseparable. I think it's cute that our Freya and our _Kuja_ are an item." The other girl said, giggling. The first girl shook her head.

"I don't think it's like that. They treat each other like siblings. I'd reckon that Felicia's parents adopted the terran boy." She said.

"Maybe Felicia is the adopted one. They're both sweethearts, but they act really strange. I don't think either of them are from Burmecia. They constantly say things that only _they_ understand." The actress said. While she didn't mention it. In her head, she specifically recalled one day when they were rehearsing Freya's third fight with Beatrix. Patty was squared off with Felicia and the actors portraying her companions. At that exact moment, Beatrix was about to secure her third victory.

"I'll kill all enemies of Alexandria!" Patty yelled out in character, triumphantly. She then paused for several seconds. The look on her face clear that she had forgotten her lines. The director sighed, but he understood that it was still early. He was more annoyed with Tom, who was standing next to him, eating a bag of popcorn and getting crumbs all over his fancy Kuja outfit. As Patty choked, Felicia smirked and couldn't help herself.

"Never talk to me or my wife's kingdom again!" Felicia blurted out. Tom spit out a mouthful of chewed up popcorn as he let out a hearty laugh. Patty, the director, and everyone else present just stood there in awkward silence. Unsure what to make of the statement. That memory was just one of many where the Harris siblings just seemed so out of place to the young actress.

"Well. I'm sure he's busy talking to himself, as usual. I wonder if he's practicing for another role." The other actress said.

"If he is, then the poor dear's been typecast as a villain, it seems. I listened in on his one time. He seemed to be going on about horrible afflictions and dead pets. But he seemed so casual. Then later, he sounded like he was going through some great adversity. It was so surreal." The actress replied.

Freya's eyes narrowed more and more as she listened to the discussion. Soon, the Iron Tail family was ready to leave. But Freya couldn't let this go. That Kuja actor was just a little too spot on. Freya told her Husband to wait in the lobby with their daughter. That she just needed to find a chamber pot. Freya made her way towards the back of the building. Behind the stage where most of the storage, as well as dressing rooms, and other essential areas lay. One of the girls she overheard said the actor that played Kuja spent most of his free time in a room upstairs. She happened upon a stairwell in the corner of the building and hastily made her way to the second floor. There weren't many people left. So it was mostly quiet. Freya closed her eyes and listened intently. It didn't take long for her to pinpoint a voice in one of the backmost rooms.

Tom was sitting in the storage room that he had claimed as his own. Felicia was out getting the item for Garnet's contact, and after struggling through that backdrop incident. She let him hang back to recover. He was currently sitting in front of the light blue glow of what would be seen as a very strange device. Shaped like a book, except on one side, several rows of buttons with letters and other marking on them. On the other, a sort of viewing glass that somehow showed moving pictures. What would be seen in the rest of the continent as some great feat of ingenuity or dark magic, was something much more mundane in Tom's hometown of Salt Flats, Cleyra. Tom was playing a game on a laptop. A crude game with silly, cartoony visuals. He played as a naked little rat girl trapped in a dark maze, shooting at monsters with her tears. It would be grotesque if it wasn't so deliberately childish. Tom rambled on as he played. He was wearing something on his head that played sounds in his ears and recorded his words through a small microphone near his mouth. Tom was sitting comfortably in a heavy sweatshirt and some light shorts.

"So it's just necessary that starting a let's play of this video game, that eventually it would have to... I'm not gonna say _finish,_ but the videos are gonna come a bit slower. Just _relax. Let it happen._ As a _permanent_ _fixture,_ Fina is not going anywhere. But I, um, you don't wanna... It's _**career suicide**_ for me to still be playing the boarding of Fina in like eighteen twenty-three or something like that..." Tom said as he recorded another run of his favorite computer game. He wasn't exactly _allowed_ to bring advanced Cleyran technology out of country. But he just needed to be extra careful during these long assignments. What he didn't know, was that someone was zeroing in on his location. And she was in no mood for games.

Freya snuck quietly as a mouse to the door. She wanted to catch her prey by surprise. Unfortunately as she slowly pushed it open. several glass bottles tied to strings began to clink together. Freya bared her teeth. Tom swiftly paused the game. The door was only open a hair. He took the opportunity to quickly stuff anything unusual under several coats. Freya decided that there was no turning back now, and pushed the door open. She kept her head lowered so her face was obscured by her hat. Tom sighed in relief. He put a hand on his chest.

"Yeesh, Fel! You almost gave me a heart attack! You must have went to the director's dinner after you got back, huh. Only reason you'd be wearing that fancy get up." Tom said. Freya said nothing. Tom stepped towards her.

"Why are you wearing that dumb Freya hat, anyway. You hate that thing almost as much as I hate that stupid thong!" Tom said. He reached out to remove the pointy red hat from the rat woman in front of him. Right before Tom's fingers could touch Freya's beloved hat, her hand shot up and grabbed his wrist. She simultaneously raised her head, revealing a look of hate.

 **"Ah!** Uh. Hi? Sorry! I thought you were my sister." Tom yelped in surprise. He tried to apologize for trying to take her hat. He was still a little dumbfounded. _Who is this woman?_ Tom thought to himself. She looked ready to kill him. He said some pretty racist shit up on stage. But that was all an act! Surely this woman wouldn't hold that against him!

"Ma'am, could you let go of my arm, please?" Tom asked politely. And awkwardly.

" _Yoooouuuuuu!_ You have some nerve. Showing your face in this kingdom!" Freya hissed. Venom dripping out of every word.

"Um..." Was all Tom could say as his eyes widened. He couldn't break the gaze of the woman who was staring daggers at him. His alarm only grew as Freya's fiery eyes began to tear up. There was no doubt about it. The actor who played Kuja was right in front of him, and all she could see was the monster staring down at her in the ruined Burmecia castle.

"Did you think I'd forget your face? That you could traipse into my **kingdom like nothing ever happened?!"** Freya drilled her foe for an answer.

"L-lady. I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just an actor!" Tom said. Freya was convinced that the man in front of her was none other than Kuja. The fact that he was playing dumb was just disgusting. The normally extremely composed knight was struggling to keep her emotions in check. There was no reason to drag this out. Freya didn't bring her spear to a play. But she did have a small, razor sharp dagger. If she had been a split second slower, Tom would have had a very good chance of defending himself. But Freya had it up to his neck in an instant. And had the proud knight been just a little more cold hearted, Tom would have died that very instant. But Freya could see the fear and confusion in her target's eyes. And she couldn't absolutely convice herself that it was just a wicked act. Instead, she merely held it firmly against his throat. Tom showed her his other palm defensively.

"Hey-hey-hey-hey-hey! Please! I'm telling you! My name is Tom Harris! I'm just some guy they picked to play Kuja in a stage play!" Tom pleaded. Trying to talk some sense into this very upset woman with a knife. Freya tried to calm her heavy breathing.

"Where did you come from?" she asked, turning her assassination into an interrogation. Tom hesitated. He was under strict orders not to disclose that information.

"Uh. Li-lindblum?" Tom said unconvincingly. He didn't expect her to buy it, and she didn't. Freya's eyes narrowed further.

"Do you take me for a fool? You were always a deceiver, Kuja. You almost even convinced _me,_ just now. But I won't let you lead this continent to ruin once more! Whatever you're scheming ends right now!" Freya said with a deathly serious tone. She drew the blade back a couple of inches, but as she saw the fear in Tom's eyes, she couldn't so readily kill someone in cold blood. Not even Kuja. Freya weighed her options until she felt something press against the side of her head. Freya's head slowly craned to the left until her eyes fell upon herself. _This is the actress who played me in the play._ Freya thought. Felicia was still wearing Freya's iconic outfit. She had returned from getting the package from Cleyra and giving it to the Alexandrians. She made it back just in time to tail a stern looking older woman sneak into the back of the theatre. As the intruder turned all of her focus on murdering Felicia's adopted brother, Felicia managed to silently procure her prized possession from a lockbox inside of her own room nearby. A Cleyran made firearm.

Freya's eyes darted from the man she was holding at knifepoint to her doppelganger, now holding what appeared to be some sort of blunderbuss against the side of her head.

"Drop the weapon." Felicia ordered. Freya's eyes narrowed.

"Do you know who you are addressing, girl?" Freya asked coldly.

"Some whack job who decided to break into my brother's room and try to murder him." Felicia said with annoyed tone. Freya gritted her teeth.

"Your _brother_ just so happens to look exactly like the man that orchestrated the genocide of our species." She said.

"Oh wow! They picked a guy who looked like a guy to portray said guy in a play!" Felicia said sarcastically. Before Freya could respond to Felicia's oh-so-witty comment, another body hurriedly entered the room. The three of them all looked to see Fratley standing there with a confused look on his face. His wife was holding a blade to a young terran man's throat while a Burmecian girl held what looked like a rifle or maybe, a fancy grape-shot gun to Freya's head. It was all the more surreal as Fratley was looking at Freya holding a dagger to Kuja's keck while another Freya held her at gunpoint. Despite the lives at stake. Fratley couldn't help but speak his mind.

"Uaaagh! _Two Freyas?_ This is a dream come true!" Fratley said excitedly. Hoping a little levity could stoke the obvious flames.

"I know, right?!" Tom said, drawing a sharp glare from Freya. Fratley locked eyes with the One look from the actress dressed as his wife told Fratley that one wrong move would prove fatal. Fratley put his hands up to try and defuse the situation.

"Let's all just _relax!_ Freya, why are accosting this young man?" He asked, trying to stay as calm as he could.

"Fratley, you don't understand. This _is_ Kuja! You never saw his with your own eyes, but I certainly have!" Freya argued.

"You should listen to your husband. I can assure you that this dingus is not some evil mastermind. I grew up with him almost my entire life!" Felicia said.

"I don't think she's lying, Freya." Fratley said.

"She's likely under a spell. Fratley, think of all this wretch has done to us!" Freya pleaded with her husband. Fratley scratched his head.

"Well, I thought he flung a tater tot at me, but that was probably a kid nearby." He said. Felicia glared at Tom, who smiled nervously back at her. She then turned her gaze back to Freya.

"Look, lady. I don't care who you are. Get that dagger out of my brother's face before I give you a fate _better than_ _being forgotten!_ " She threatened. Freya stared daggers back at the younger girl. But Fratley was the first to speak.

"Freya, our _daughter_ is waiting in the _lobby_." He said with a deathly serious tone. Freya's eyes darted between her husband's worried gaze, her terrified target, and his determined defender. She scowled, but closed her eyes in defeat. She slowly let go of Tom's shirt and withdrew her blade. The esteemed knight turned and slowly walked to her husband at the door. She was able to maintain her legendary composure, but she was seething inside. Fratley put his hand on her shoulder, but Freya turned around to face Tom and Felicia.

"Make no mistake, _Kuja!_ I won't let my kingdom get caught unaware again. I'll have my eye on you." Freya said. Tom thrust his hands out in a sort of _whatever_ gesture.

"Ok! I'm honored to have you as a fan!" Tom said. Trying to sound as genuine as possible just to tick her off. Freya stormed off with Fratley following close behind. Tom and Felicia looked at one another.

"Thanks for the rescue." He said.

"Don't mention it. Let's get some sleep." She replied wearily.

"Should we be concerned that one of the most beloved heroes of this kingdom seems convinced that I'm actually Kuja?" Tom asked. Felicia shook her head.

"You terrans all look the same. And that lady doesn't seem like the _torch and pitchfork_ sort." she said.

"Well, yeah. That'd be Vivi and Quina." Tom said with a smile. He continued.

"Besides. If I really was Kuja. Then, of course, I'd have to make amends by doing everything I could to help with the... repopulatio- **ooofff!** " Tom's joke was cut short by Felicia slamming the butt stock of her shotgun into his gut. She grinned and shook her head. And they both prepared to go to sleep.


End file.
